In the Shadows
by L-stMemories
Summary: Concealed under a cold and menacing exterior and a reputation of being entirely fearless is a soul shaken by vivid nightmares. A soul submerged in the shadows of fear. How would Shadow fare, when he sees his very fears in the shadows? How would he react, in the face of temptation? What would he do, with time running out, to save those most dear to him?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**

Rating: T (I think somewhere between K+ and T, but just to be on the safe side).

It's been a while. I _am_ working on other stories and ideas at the moment, but with university and life in general getting in the way, my progress has been erratic and stop-starts are frequent. Regardless, one day, those stories will reach completion. (|||-_-)

This is my second Fanfiction (yes, I didn't publish it until now). If you liked my other Fanfiction 'Scrap Brain Zone', you may (or may not) like this one. Otherwise, do be warned. Both were written in very similar styles (i.e. experimental) without a concrete plan to follow. I sort of just followed my heart.

As for the various details, such as characters' attacks, I did research and threw in whatever seemed suitable, so you may see slightly unconventional attacks appearing in the following story at very random times, such as those from Sonic Battle.

You can also treat this as an extensive character sketch for Shadow (and others too!), amongst other things, such as practising describing characters and their actions, etc.

This story was initially named 'Shadow's Biggest Fear', but that was too explicit and uninteresting for a title. So I went for a slightly abstract one with a very interesting and _shadowy_ pun (oops!). ;) As you read on, I'm sure you'll be able to figure out what Shadow fears most - at least in this story.

Again, Sonic, Shadow and Silver are brothers. All zones in this story taken from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992).

All characters and zones (and attacks, etc.) belong to SEGA.

* * *

**PART ONE**

* * *

_All was dark. All was silent._

_And then a sphere of cerulean light appeared. Within it a motionless figure, in a sleeping position, hovered above the ground._

_But he wasn't sleeping._

_And his lifeless body fell to the unyielding ground of concrete, creating a heavy sound that echoed into the distance. His body was still emitting a hue of blue._

_Shadow approached the corpse with caution._

_And he identified the shape of a hedgehog._

_He found it impossible to breathe, an invisible force squeezing his lungs tight. Tears threatened to penetrate the barrier of his eyes._

_Another orb of radiance emerged from the darkness, this time glowing a bright hoary. Within it held another form, similar to the first. His fell to the ground within another matter of seconds, and his body emitted a white light._

_ The percussive sound of the impact once again dispersed in all directions._

_And the barrier broke, shattered by the consecutive heart-rendering echoes._

_Streams of despair converged into pain and hatred, fear and sadness, and trickled down his face._

_And a monster materialised in front of him. He possessed a twisted face with three eyes, glowing a solid, indifferent red, with twin horns protruding from both sides of his head; he was wrapped in a worn robe, decorated with spiked ornaments and instruments; his deep voice, though quiet, reverberated clearly, radiating a certain coldness. He waved his wretched claws, and all light and bodies vanished._

_ Unable to contain his emotions, the two rings that previously hung loosely on his wrists slipped off. So did the two on his ankles. Like the inanimate forms, they dropped to the ground, making a raucous echo that penetrated into the endless abyss of surrounding darkness._

_And he exploded into a searing ball of light, outraged, yet distraught, his body tearing apart from the sheer force of his Chaos Energy…_

* * *

Sunshine shrouded the vast plains of Emerald Hill Zone. Skies were as blue as the glimmering lake of azure, the waves gently moving in the comforting zephyrs. In the far distance stood waterfalls of different heights, plunging graciously into the lake.

Napping lazily, in the shade of a large tree next to the river, was no one other than the carefree Sonic himself; his spines relaxed in the breeze, his breathing was steady, and drool was slowly leaking from the corner of his grinning mouth. Next to him was Tails, with a pair of sky-blue eyes that displayed the highest amount of concentration, busily absorbing in all technical details on a piece of blueprint; he then took out a pen, and the two-tailed fox began to scribble complicated symbols and terminologies frantically. Leaning against the bulky tree trunk, less than a metre away, was Knuckles, whose eyes were clearly open, but the dreamy purple irises drifted off into the distance, hitting nothing but an endless shade of blue.

Tranquility was smashed into shards when the fox-boy sat up straight, his eyes glowing with excitement, and screamed, "I solved it!"

The azure hedgehog was up so abruptly that he almost jumped from his slumber; his green orbs were filled with the distress of one who lost his rapturous dream in an alternate reality to a sudden blow from the real world. The scarlet echidna turned his head so quickly his neck made a piercing cracking sound; he cringed and rubbed the shock with his fist, and his dazed stare was replaced with an unmistakable alertness.

Looking at his friends, who glared at him accusingly, he looked down in an ashamed manner, "Sorry."

"Heh. No matter," Sonic shrugged, "What is it that you solved?"

"With this," the eager Tails pointed to the indecipherable annotations belonging to that of a prodigy, "I can finally upgrade my _Tornado_ and improve its aerodynamic properties, as well as making it much more energy-efficient by enabling it to run on power instead of fuel!"

"Wow. Sounds cool!" Sonic cheered enthusiastically.

"Wow. Sounds complicated," Knuckles grumbled, with a hint of sarcasm.

"No, it's actually not that hard to understand after you put all the pieces of the puzzle together!" Tails responded.

Knuckles said nothing, but smiled, seeing how elated the fox-boy was. He then turned to Sonic, who was about to fall asleep on the soft blanket of grass again. A thought manifested in his mind, and a mischievous smirk formed on his muzzle.

And in no more than a few seconds was an unsuspecting Sonic thrown into the adjacent lake. He flailed his limbs, ferociously beating the water as an invisible force of anti-buoyancy seemed to drag him down.

"KNUCKLES - WHAT THE - _glurb_ \- HELL - _glurb_ -"

Tails yelped in fear, and, throwing his blueprints and pen to the side, propelled himself into the air, his twin tails spinning. He hovered over the water, "Sonic, calm down! Grab my hands!"

But the blue hedgehog was still caught up in a panic attack. His arms flung in wild directions, and it was almost impossible for the fox-boy to close in without receiving a smack in the face. Tails could only stare at his friend with painful helplessness.

Suddenly, a black figure emerged in the distance. He dived into the lake without hesitation, and in no time had his hands securely fastened onto the hysterical hedgehog. He was raised and placed onto the grassy ground, while the black figure climbed out of the body of water, equally drenched.

Knuckles chuckled at this prank, "Heh, Sonic! You're _too slow_!" And he continued to laugh.

In the blink of an eye, the figure confronted, then knocked the red echidna onto the ground, and pinned him down.

"Hey -" Knuckles retorted, but his determined eyes slightly faltered when they met the gaze of unforgiving ruby-coloured irises.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he seethed with limitless fury.

"Shadow! Calm down - it was just a prank!"

"He could've died! And _you_ could've been charged guilty for murder, thrown into and forever abandoned in a jail cell. Your body would slowly decay, your mind slowly degenerate, until you are nothing but the embodiment of insanity itself. The situation would become so dire that you would suffer into all eternity beyond your death - you'd wish you were in hell instead," and he glared once more at the confused echidna, and dashed off into the distance.

"What…was that?" Knuckles frowned.

Tails said nothing, but gulped. Shadow was already intimidating enough, and he did not like it when Shadow was the least bit angry, let alone fuming.

"I think he's - _cough_ \- right," A trembling voice said, "I could've _died_, Knuckles!"

"Dude!" He retorted, "As I said, it was just a prank! I know my limits - I would go save you myself if you were truly in danger! And the water isn't even that deep, especially not at the edge of the lake!"

"You _damn_ well know, Knuckles, that I have aquaphobia -"

"Guys! That's enough. Stop fighting. Be glad that we're all safe and sound," Tails interrupted, and Sonic began to walk away. His legs were jelly-like in a wobbly anger, his arms palpitating slightly, and his eyes were widened in terror at the thoughts of drowning, green irises radiating a paranoid alertness.

"Knuckles, let's go," And the fox-boy trotted behind the wet blue hedgehog.

The scarlet echidna sighed, and followed in their wake.

* * *

_"It's no use, Shadow. They're all gone," The icy voice of mystery echoed in the darkness._

_"Tell me where they are, or you shall perish upon my bare hands!"_

_Colours and bodies of blue and white appeared again in the distance upon a swift waving gesture. Without hesitation or delay, the ebony hedgehog sprinted past the levitating monster, who observed him with a certain satisfaction - though it was impossible to tell through his devilish complexion._

_The bodies moved away at the same pace. Desperation and despair swelled up in his chest as he ran faster, and faster, but at last, the reality of not getting closer to his brothers crushed his hopes; he slowed down, and stopped abruptly. But the bodies did not stop. They continued to hover, as still as time could be in this dark abyss, and disappeared into the distance._

_They were gone._

_Shadow cried out, tears trickling down his cheeks. Once again, four rings clattered loudly to the floor, amidst of the abhorred laughter of the monster. The light of Chaos Energy erupted from his body, a supernova in this dimension of eternal darkness._

_He screamed in fury, overwhelmed by emotional pain, and charged with full force towards the monster, the sheer force of Chaos Energy, and speed, rendering his body into nothingness…_

The black hedgehog woke up in the middle of the night. Beads of perspiration painted his forehead, and his breathing wavered in distress. The vivid images from the dream replayed itself in his mind, and he clutched his chest.

* * *

Early in the morning, a faint rumbling sound came from the workshop, decorated by a few sharp _dings_ and _dongs_. Knuckles walked in.

"Tails," Knuckles called, "C'mere."

"Coming!" Tails responded. He left his mechanical work-in-progress, and was no sooner standing in front of Knuckles, "What's the matter?"

"Is Sonic still mad about what happened yesterday?"

"Well…uh, it's still quite early in the morning. I haven't seen him today - he's most probably not awake yet."

"Oh - right. I'll just ask him later when he's up, then."

Moments of awkward silence passed by, with the soft humming sounds of machinery close by. The red echidna frowned as his next inquiry seemed to have escaped his thoughts, nowhere to be found.

"Is there anything else -"

"I can't seem to remember…" he sucked in a large volume of air through his teeth; his heart itched, screaming for it to return…"That's it!" Knuckles blurted. Having startled the unsuspecting fox-boy, he felt a slight tinge of embarrassment, and apologised. He added, "Remember how Shadow was so aggressive yesterday?"

"Yeah…"

"Why do you think he was like that?"

"Well…" Tails rubbed his chin, "the chances of coincidence are quite high - he probably just happened to pass by."

"But that doesn't explain his mood and attitude."

"Uh. He could've just had a bad day - wait, let me switch off my machines!"

Knuckles pondered for a few moments, as Tails dashed back into the depths of his mechanical paradise. He came back not long after.

"Tails, don't you think Shadow would've laughed at my prank, instead of coming at me?"

"Hmm…interesting. He usually _did_ chuckle every time Sonic was pranked."

"Oh - yeah - the time when we stuffed his chilli dogs with salt! He literally choked to death!" Knuckles started laughing. Tails joined in, with a somewhat sarcastic tone and lack of enthusiasm.

"Now's not the time to laugh, Knuckles. We still have a riddle to solve."

"Right - but, by the name of the Master Emerald, that was hilarious!" And again he put himself in a fit of laughter, this time bigger than before.

Tails shook his head. "Knuckles!"

"Okay, okay, sorry 'bout that. Heh."

"It's fine. But this _is_ quite puzzling."

After seconds of silence, Knuckles groaned, "Ugh. Whatever. I'll just go ask him myself," And he walked out of the workshop, leaving the fox-boy.

Tails shouted, "Knuckles, wait! Shadow will -" But the scarlet echidna didn't stop. He trotted to catch up, "Shadow won't be happy if you asked, to say the least!"

"Meh. What's the worst that could happen?" and he dashed off, a ball of red.

* * *

Shadow walked by the lake. His footsteps were light, but his heart was heavy. Cautiously, he looked around. Seeing no one in sight, the ebony hedgehog sat onto the soft blanket of grass adjacent to the brimming water.

Staring into the distance, he absent-mindedly hummed to himself, hoping to find the answer in the gentle gales that flew past. Though the wind yielded no answer, its soothing sound calmed the heavy-hearted hedgehog. And his mouth exhibited a faint but visible smile. _What a blissful scene. Perfect tranquility. No unnecessary disturbances…_

He closed his eyes, and, amidst the song of nature, drifted into sleep.

He dreamed again.

_Just like most of his other dreams, he was in a black hole, void of all sound of light but his own presence, which glowed faintly, a feeble shadow of light on the dark ground._

_"Silver!"_

_The hoary-coloured hedgehog was lying on the floor. His lifeless limbs didn't move a single inch. In no time, Shadow was crouching over his brother, repeatedly screaming his name, hoping to receive a response - any response, even the slightest of movements, the quietest of sounds. His fists tightened in vain frustration, and his eyes became glossy as tears shimmered through his bright-red orbs. Nothing happened; the entire dimension was void of all but the miserable weight of gravity, pulling the black hedgehog into despair through the unfathomable ground. Suddenly, his hands jolted forwards, grabbing his brother by his chest, and began to shake him in a mad, violent frenzy. The dissonant and painful sound of chest hair being torn from skin gnawed at his heart, but he didn't stop; he wouldn't stop unless his brother reacted -_

_Silver shimmered and disappeared._

_Shadow screamed and raised his fists, and smashed them onto the small pile of white fluff on the ground. A dull wave of sound reverberated into the endless distance._

_"Shadow…"_

_He threw his head around, eyes widened, expecting to see the monster with the unforgettably-devilish complexion towering over him._

_Instead, he came face to face with Sonic._

_Initially relieved, his heart soon began to tremble in a fearful uncanniness as he realised something wasn't right._

_His brother had his eyes closed, and stood as still as the hollow darkness surrounding them, as if he was merely a statue. But that was far from being the most striking as Shadow closely observed the colour of the motionless hedgehog in front of him._

_It was dark. Darker than evil and death could be._

_Sonic opened his mouth and spoke again, moving absolutely nothing, only his lips, "Shadow…"_

_Shadow stepped back in terror. The voice was monotonous and demonic, and could in no way belong to his cheerful and justified brother._

_"Shadow…" The voice rang out a third time, "My hands…are thirsty for blood; if you don't move out of the way, I'll _kill_ you too."_

_The ebony hedgehog held back a whimper; his eyes followed the bloodstained hands as Sonic gradually raised them in a robotic and programmed fashion. In his right hand he clutched a heart, still beating dutifully, spurting out blood._

_"Sonic - no, you're _not_ Sonic…Sonic wouldn't do anything like this."_

_The opposing hedgehog laughed in madness. "I am the mighty _Dark_ Sonic, and _nothing_ stands in my way."_

_And the dark figure opened his eyes, instantly enveloped in a depraved aura of malice. The midnight-coloured hedgehog found himself staring into white nothingness - the green orbs he yearned to see were gone. Dark Sonic lunged out with brilliant velocity, his bloody claws forcing Shadow to the cold floor, pressing onto his body…_

And he woke up, covered in sweat. Another nightmare…

A certain red echidna was sitting somewhat softly on his chest.

* * *

Tails flew up the stairs, and bolted into Sonic's room. The blue hedgehog, still drooling, shot up from his sleep in terror, but slouched in relief as he saw nothing but the orange fox-boy, whose sky-blue irises were terrified.

"Tails, what's wrong? It's only 8 A.M. in the morning…" and he yawned extravagantly.

"Sonic! You've got to help! Knuckles wanted to fight -"

"Humph. That red echidna who tried to _kill_ me yesterday?" Sonic snarled, "he can deal with his own problems!" And, to dismiss the matter at hand, he slumped back into sleeping position and buried himself under his blanket.

"Sonic, please! Knuckles and Shadow! Something bad is going to happen!"

Sounds of exaggerated false snoring emerged from below the blanket. _Why couldn't Sonic just listen?_ Tails clenched his fists in vexation, and shouted, "Sonic! Stop obsessing over what Knuckles did to you yesterday and get over it!"

The snoring stopped, and only silence remained.

"Don't you care about Knuckles and Shadow? Your best friend and brother? Don't you want to protect them?!" Tails continued in a fit of rage, balling his fists even more, "what if they both severely injured themselves -"

"Okay, okay, buddy! I get it! I'm sorry; I'm so tired - not used to waking up this early -" Sonic sat up again, and meekly defended himself.

"Well, then get out of bed!" Tails snapped back, and hurriedly tugged at the blue hedgehog's arm, dragging him out of his covers. Eventually, the two left the room, the anxious fox-boy in front, the semi-awake hedgehog unusually trailing behind with heavy eyelids.

* * *

Shadow roared in rage, and sprung up; Knuckles leaped off just in time to not be flung away, "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Shadow! Why were you so fired up yesterday?" He demanded.

"Why, in the name of that _damn_ fourth Chaos Emerald, do you care?!"

"Because you're acting all strange and defensive!"

"Imbecile! I'll show you the meaning of 'strange'…"

The black hedgehog repeatedly charged at the vermillion echidna with supersonic speed, who, instinctively, repeatedly threw out his fists to block the incoming spheres of black.

"Don't make me do this, Knuckles…"

"I'm not stopping until you provide me a satisfying response!"

The black hedgehog roared, "And _I_ won't stop until I satisfy your insolent desires with a living hell! Chaos Spear!"

Bolts of pure energy hit Knuckles square in the body, and exploded upon impact, propelling the red echidna into the air; for a moment, he winced, but, twisting his body midair and smashing his fists of steel into the ground below, he, through a powerful Ground Shaker, set off a minor tremor; jagged cracks in the earth snaked towards the black hedgehog, and he leaped to his side just in time to avoid the rocky debris that shot out from the ground. He bit his lip as he tried to maintain his balance on the shaking terrain, but a swift Megaton Hook to his chest sent him flying backwards.

The ebony male, however, did not succumb to the surge of pain to his ribs. The quake slowly subsided, and through an agile backflip he landed on his feet. Retaining his momentum, he sprung up, a scintillating aura of Chaos Energy surrounding his entire being. Immediately following a howl of raw rage was a blinding fulmination as a circular ring of destruction swept the surroundings, shredding away the top layers of fertility. Knuckles was caught in the outburst, and clenched his teeth in pain as a flaming sensation seemingly rendered his entire existence null. The deafening sound of tree trunks snapping and crashing onto the floor with a booming _thud_ surged into the distance.

But he was not prepared to give up. Once again, he called upon his powers of geokinesis, and deadly thorns impaled the terra, writhing in the air like snakes to the mesmerising melodies of the snake charmer. He lashed out his arm, and the vegetation wrapped themselves around the slim legs of the dark hedgehog, who grimaced at the barbs sinking their teeth into his flesh, savouring his blood.

Seeing his opponent immersed in torturous pain, he felt a strong pang of guilt, and shouted across the catastrophic terrain, "Shadow! I don't want to hurt you! Just answer my question!"

But the words were nowhere near enough to extinguish the cold flames, burning outrageously in the eyes of the indomitable hedgehog. "Never shall I succumb to a pathetic weakling like you!"

"How dare you address me this way!" The initial burst of guilt was gone, replaced by a paroxysm of rancour; Knuckles clenched his fists, and the prickled ropes tightened.

"You shall pay for your idiocy and misdeeds! Chaos Rift!" Using his free hands, he began to weave a space-time rift, the void of sheer nothingness distorting the atmosphere. He fired the newly-formed black hole towards the vermillion echidna, whose grape-coloured irises widened in shock and terror.

"STOP! NOW!"

A shrill voice boomed, and blades of Psychic Knives repeatedly slashed the void until it ripped apart, unable to contain its power. Simultaneously, the thorny constrictions clinging to the legs of the black hedgehog, scarred with wounds and speckled with blood, loosened and twisted back below the ground. Knuckles sighed; his body was quite severely bruised, and his entire being was flooded with inflaming pain. Both turned their heads, surprised to see an ivory figure, trembling with explicit indignation.

"What do you guys think you're doing?!" he screamed, an outburst of emotion in his voice.

Shadow replied calmly, "Silver, stay out of this, it's none of your business -"

"It's _none of my business_? Who the _hell_ do you think you are?!" Feeling betrayed and offended, tears trickled down the white male's soft cheeks. He was dead mad, at his brother and close friend, who engaged themselves in mortal battle out of sheer irresponsibility and lack of control.

Knuckles started, "Silver, listen - I'm sorry -" but was quickly cut off by the fuming hedgehog.

"You better be!" He retorted venomously, "You guys don't even care about others! You're both wounded - what if one of you _died_?! How would _I_ be able to continue living my life, so cruelly torn apart, after losing you?! How would Sonic and Tails and…everybody else feel after you've gone?! If you want to drown everyone in an eternal sea of sorrow, then carry on! I don't care! As long as you're happy with what you're doing, I'm fine with it too!"

Only silence followed the rant of the hoary hedgehog, who convulsed even more after his explosive tantrum. His stifled breathing, like the rapid fire of a Gatling gun, were bullets that repeatedly punctured his brother and friend, who stood motionlessly. They looked at each other in disbelief of their actions.

"Is everyone alright?"

Two pairs of red and purple eyes drifted towards the incoming blur of blue. Only the golden orbs were still fixated to the ground. After looking around and seeing a ruined landscape, Sonic bit his tongue, realising the answer to his question.

"Faker. What took you so long? Were you _too slow_?" Shadow muttered sardonically.

"Seriously, Shadow, it's very early in the morning -" and his eyes hit the various wounds and bruises on the black and red bodies, "Oh, by the name of the Chaos Emeralds! Are you guys okay?"

Knuckles sighed audibly, and Shadow said nothing more; he started towards Silver, and reached out his arm to apologise, but halted to his poisonous words, "Go away! Don't you dare take another step towards me, Shadow!"

"Silver, _listen_ to me -"

"NO!"

The green irises of the blue hedgehog suddenly widened in alert, "Silver?! What's the matter?!"

"Not of your concern," his biting words sunk deep.

Knuckles took a deep breath, "Silver, look - we're both terribly sorry -"

"Don't talk to me." And he flew across the river, surrounded in a hue of blue.

At this moment, a fox-boy arrived, "Sonic, wait, wait for me - huh?! - Silver, where are you going?! Guys, what happened?" he panted, breathing hard; his shock amplified at the sight of the injured Shadow and Knuckles, azure irises fuelled with horror.

Shadow clenched his fists. His eyes were stone hard, but all he felt was a void emptiness of despair and helplessness. Knuckles did nothing but stare grimly to the ground, his lips pressed together.

All was silent, the atmosphere tense with a thick fog of emotions.

Suddenly, the black hedgehog stormed off, leaping through the barren land of dead tree trunks.

Tails was getting hysteric; not only did he not know what was going on, his comrades were leaving, one by one, for unknown reasons in unknown directions. His voice was shrill, "Shadow! Come back! Don't go!"

Sonic started, "Let me go chase him!" and he sped off, in pursuit of his brother.

"No! Now we must stay together - Sonic, wait! No…" Tails shouted, then his voice fell into a groan. He sighed audibly, staring at the ground. It was all too much to take in for a short period of time. Knuckles, approaching the dismal fox-boy, reached out his arms and embraced him in a tight hug.

"I'm sorry, Tails. It's all my fault. I promise you everything will be fine - I'll make it up!"

Tails let out a bitter, feeble chuckle, "I doubt it. But thanks, Knuckles."

* * *

The white hedgehog was sobbing nonstop. Powerful forces of wind opposed him as he darted through the air, shrivelling the wetness of his eyes and tear-ridden face. The sun was rising, and the azure lake brimmed and rippled with excitement, but none of which was able to alleviate the pains of the depressed hedgehog.

The fight replayed itself, of Knuckles and his geokinesis, and Shadow with his Chaos Powers, but his dejected state of mind morphed the images to gruesome scenes of death: the entire world has been dimmed red by a two-way bloodbath. Amongst the land so untimely ripped of its green colour, ridden with dilapidation and debris, lay the carcasses of an echidna and a hedgehog. Excessive bleeding from the bodies contaminated the bare earth, and - he winced, squeezing more tears out of his eyes - were surrounded by an assortment of internal organs and shredded body tissue -

_No. Stop._ He closed his eyes, calling for darkness, trying to force away the disturbing pictures, but the thought of his brother and friend dead lingered in his mind, grabbing his thoughts and refusing to let go. He focused the attention of his mind to the wind blowing so vigorously in the air, and hoped that they would be able to shatter the grisly images…

And he landed. Behind him lay the vast lake of blue, and in front stood a mass of tall trees. Without pause, he proceeded forward in a run.

_Silver, stay out of this, it's none of your business…_

He clamped his hands into fists, making his knuckles clearly visible even with his gloves on, and bit his lip, leaving deep bite marks. It was perplexing, how his brother had initially dismissed him so quickly without hesitation. It seemed as if he was oblivious to the depravity of the situation, and as if he didn't care about how he felt.

In a state of ambivalent rage and discombobulation, the white hedgehog ran deeper and deeper into the thickets.

He didn't even know where he was going. All he wanted was to get away, to be alone.

And something exploded in front of him. He fell back, smashing his head against the forest terrain. After a moment, he stood up, and saw a legion of robots advancing towards him, led by none other than a certain rotund scientist.

"Silver the Hedgehog!" he boomed, in his cockpit-style aircraft.

"Eggman! What do you want?!"

"_This_ is what I want! Robots - _ATTACK_!" in no time, the entire army of egg-shaped robots shot out missiles of energy, aimed at the white hedgehog. Acting on his instincts, Silver curled into a ball of grey, rapidly avoiding the incoming projectiles, and dashed into the mass of machines, chaining one Homing Attack after another. The scale of the army slowly diminished as the Eggrobos exploded into pieces of scrap metal.

"Grrr…" raged Eggman, "You insolent little brat!"

"And I'm not done yet!" Silver shouted back; taking a deep breath and summoning all his psychokinetic power, he picked up the entire sea of shattered steel, and began to mash everything into a colossal, spherical amalgamation of destruction.

"Oh, I don't think so!" declared the scientist, as he saw through the preparations of the concentrated hedgehog; he methodically tapped a sequence of buttons on his control panel, and launched blasts of pure electricity from the side cannons. "Meet my anti-psychokinetic electrocution beam!"

The shockwave hit the hedgehog right on his forehead, and his entire body convulsed in electrocution. A feeling of oppression surged through his mind, as if being pressed on forcefully; his could feel his concentration rapidly dissipating into nothingness as maniacal laughter boomed in his ears. No sooner did robotic tentacles extend from the Egg Mobile, reaching for the hoary hedgehog. Unable to move, he was helplessly caught in the claws of steel. It grasped him so firmly and completely that he could not move, and sensations of discomfort and pain surged through his furry body; the Egg Mobile opened up a vacuum, and he felt increasingly weakened as his psychokinetic powers leaked from his body, depleted and drained away.

Seeing his victorious success, the egg-shaped scientist stroked his moustache in satisfaction, and began to retreat, metallic appendages still grabbing the poor, powerless hedgehog.

"Congratulations!" he shrieked triumphantly to a semi-conscious Silver, "You have earned yourself a free trip to my esteemed base!"

* * *

Running at such a speed, all was a blur. In a state of definite turmoil and outrage, he was unclear as to where he was going. He solemnly claimed full responsibility for his despicable actions, his wrathful intentions, and silently scolded himself for being too over-defensive and rash towards the red echidna, his friend, and for being so dismissive of the white hedgehog, his younger brother.

He hoped that he was truly alone, not being followed by anyone in particular, but a shrill voice pierced his thoughts.

"Shadow! Wait up!"

He cursed under his breath, and sped up. Where he would end up he no longer had the heart to care, only to be alone. He would silently reflect upon the events of this morning, and then decide what to do. But the blue hedgehog, who rivalled his speed, was relentlessly in pursuit of him.

_What a nuisance._ He thought. _Maybe I should stop and go straight to his face, and tell him I don't want to be followed…_

He slowed down as he reached the cliffside, and stopped. Likewise, seeing his target halt, Sonic jogged to a stop.

"Shadow, where are you going? Is everything alright?"

"None of your business!"

"What - huh?!" Sonic stammered in annoyance, "how is it none of my business?! You're my _damn_ brother!"

"Yeah, I am! So is Silver! Why don't you go follow _him_ instead?!" Shadow spat.

Already, Sonic was beginning to lose his temper; he didn't get his desired amount of sleep, was woken up by a panicking fox-boy so early in the morning, and had to face the harsh reality that a serious fight had taken place between his brother and friend. Troubled, he could feel the heat of anger in his face, his blood bubbling in an agitated manner, like an active volcano, "What do you mean, follow him _instead_?! He flew across a _damn_ river! Are you expecting me to swim and drown?! I _would_, if I could, split myself into body and soul to follow both of you!" he growled, "If _only_ you could tell me what's happening, Shadow!"

Looking at the midnight hedgehog, Sonic heaved a deep sigh, and said in a quiet, soothing voice, breaking the strained silence, "Shadow. Is this from…the _past_?"

Eagerly expecting a response, the azure hedgehog crossed his arms and tapped his feet on the ground in ennui, but having received nothing but a dreadful, apprehensive silence, he urged on. "Hello? Shadow?" Sonic, restless as he is, nudged his pondering brother, "Dude, talk to me! Stop ignoring me! I'm trying to help -"

And the ebony male exploded. He roared, a paroxysm of rage, half in frustration at his worries, and half in exasperation at his impatient brother. "GO AWAY!"

Sonic gaped, his mouth hanging open. The emeralds of the cerulean hedgehog widened in terror and distress. Benevolent intentions rejected, he stood there, in disbelief and petrification.

"I don't need _your_ help."

"H-how could you?!" retorted Sonic.

"I never asked you to follow me in the first place! Why the hell are you being such an _irritable nuisance_, as per _damn_ usual?!" the ebony hedgehog continued to rage.

"Because…because I'm your brother…your _damn_ _BROTHER_, Shadow!" he exploded, "I'm trying to help you! It's what brothers do to each other, to ensure each others' wellbeing - and you _literally_ dismiss and neglect me -"

"Well, you better ensure your _own_ wellbeing before you get yourself into trouble! Your persistent following is not in any way ensuring my wellbeing, _Faker_! If only, for once in your life, you could stop being such a _fool_!"

"_Fool_? Who do you think you're addressing a _fool_?! That's right, Shadow. I'm a _fool_. I'm a fool for being your _brother_. Brothers have trust. Brothers have support. They have a fond attachment for each other. They openly confide in each other, and share their deepest secrets, joys and sorrows, because their hearts beat as one, and they believe in each other," the blue hedgehog sighed deeply, teary-eyed from rage and sadness, "And what do _we_ have? We have distance. Disagreement. Distrust. Conflict from all sides. We have competition and rivalry sometimes _so_ unfriendly that I want to question my _damned_ soul and the Chaos Emeralds whether I can call myself _someone's_ brother or _not_. And I can imagine just how strongly Silver feels about the same case!"

To this, Shadow fell completely silent - so silent that he almost ceased to exist.

_They openly confide in each other, and share their deepest secrets…_

It happened before. He was on the cliffside, with his brother…

_"You may have vanquished my race, but I shall return stronger than ever…" a malicious voice whispered, "Farewell, Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog. Do not ever forget your greatest fears. We shall meet again."_

_"Shadow! Are you alright?!"_

_Previously in his super form, the brilliant light of gold faded, and in the distance he kneeled on the ground, quietly sobbing. His brother, last remnants of the golden hue also disappearing, bolted over to comfort him - with a trembling voice - but recoiled slightly as he whipped out an arm to keep his affections at bay._

_"Go…away."_

_"Shadow…don't take it so seriously. He's just making a last, futile effort to…to…threaten, to manipulate -"_

_"Don't. You. Dare. Mention. It."_

_"Shadow, listen. We all fear. We fear lots of things."_

_"It's so easy for you to say now, huh?!"_

_Ignoring his brother, Sonic continued. "I'm scared of plenty of things. I'm scared of water. I'm scared of _him_. I was scared when he almost devoured me -"_

_A choke interrupted the blue hedgehog, followed by another. The tears that swelled up the red orbs bore a heart-breaking sadness._

_"That's right, Shadow, I almost _died_! He almost got me -"_

_"STOP! Please!" cried the black hedgehog, his voice serrated and broken, his spirit utterly shattered._

_Sonic fell silent. His brother wasn't one to beg. He approached his teary brother, sat down, and wrapped an arm round his body. Together, they cried. Tears fell from their eyes in unison. Amidst the misty silence, the stars shimmered in the close, yet distant, expansive night sky. Beyond the cliff was a large mass of forest, and then there laid Metropolis Zone, the small town blooming with life. The wind gently blew into their bodies, as if to dispel the heat of battle, but caused discomfort to their wetted eyes._

_"Just one thing," croaked Shadow, blinking tears from his eyes._

_"What is it?"_

_"Don't tell anyone about this - not even Silver."_

_"No, of course I won't. He shouldn't know about this."_

_Slowly, the black hedgehog relaxed within the embrace of his brother. He raised his arm, and also wrapped it around the body of blue fur that was adjacent to him. Slowly, he leaned onto his shoulder…_

And he returned. To the same cliffside in the present. He stood rigidly, unable to face his brother, who was equally stiff; Sonic's eyes, brimming with moisture, looked into those that belonged to his brother, which, in the absence of tears, glowed a dry sadness more profound. All of a sudden, the emptiness of the moment was slowly filled by a growing rumble overhead.

"Shadow, watch out!" a mechanical aircraft hovered above, and released a metallic capsule. Sonic lashed out at his motionless brother, knocking him out of the way.

The capsule opened, and swallowed the blue hedgehog whole.

When Shadow had climbed up and regained his senses, tentacle-like extensions had already picked up the capsule - which contained his brother. The aircraft flew past in slow mockery, its vastness a temporary eclipse of the blue sky, a brief shadow on the ground.

Struck by a thunderbolt of reality, he fell to his knees in a state of incredulity and shock.

_Well, you better ensure your _own_ wellbeing before you get yourself into trouble!_

The jinxing nature of life, and the irony of it all…_it's all my fault._

_I'm distant, disagreeing, distrusting. I'm not worthy of being a brother._ And he shamelessly cried, howling to the careless sky. He let time pass him by, for how long he did not know; suddenly, a malicious voice whispered to him from nowhere.

_Shadow the Hedgehog…_

* * *

**Author's Note**

That's it for Part One! Treat this as a preview - if you're enjoying it, great! If not, then at least you know to not read the following Parts! :)

But thank you all for reading, regardless of whether you liked it or not! Do let me know what you think.

(In the name of the Chaos Emeralds, do I like character sketches…!)

Part Two coming soon…


	2. Chapter 2

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

With both Sonic and Silver captured, Shadow could not possibly be farther away from his brothers. He is suddenly visited by a strange voice. Who, or what, is it? Shadow's journey through his biggest fear continues in Part Two of 'In the Shadows'!

Hope you enjoy.

* * *

**PART TWO**

* * *

"Tell me what happened," Tails said to Knuckles as they walked back to the workshop.

"I provoked Shadow, and we got into a fight -"

"Yeah, I could tell," Tails sighed, "I meant what happened after the fight."

"Oh…" Knuckles grimaced and swallowed hard, "It was Silver who stopped us fighting and knocked some sense into our brains."

The fox-boy nodded solemnly.

"But Silver wasn't happy - seeing us fight, he was distraught. We tried to apologise, but he wouldn't accept our apologies."

"But what about Shadow?"

"No idea…he just dashed off. He really tried to reach out to Silver to apologise, but…" Knuckles' words faltered, "Silver was absolutely furious, to say the least."

"I can understand, being rejected by your own brother when you genuinely wanted to show how much you cared."

"To say Shadow was 'rejected' is quite an understatement…Silver was so angry he even _swore_."

To this, a light but audible gasp escaped the fox-boy's mouth, "He…_swore_? B-but Silver _never_ swore!"

"Yeah, exactly. Goes to show how mad he was at us…what should we do now?"

"I…don't know. Now that Sonic's run off as well, hopefully he can catch Shadow and convince him to come back to us, and then we can all go find Silver together. I hope all three of them are alright…"

"They're super-speedy, super-strong hedgehog brothers; what's the worst that could happen?"

"I don't know. It's just…I don't have a particularly good feeling about this."

Upon arriving at the workshop, a bitter sensation of despair surged through the fox-boy. His legs softened up, unable to brace his light weight, and no sooner had he fallen onto his knees. Knuckles shared his pain, for his eyes enlarged in consternation at the sight of the devastation.

The workshop was demolished, and partly in flames.

"M-my workshop…my paradise, my heaven!" And he burst into tears. The red echidna brought him into his chest in an embrace of warmth, and the fox-boy hugged his body closely.

"Who, in this _damn_ world, did this?! I'm so sorry, Tails…when we get to the bottom of everything, we'll rebuild your workshop into a grand palace of technology, even more so than before!"

Tails said nothing but tightened his hold, and Knuckles heaved a bitter sigh.

Suddenly, amidst the cataclysm emerged a tall, rotund figure.

"Ho ho ho, well, look who it is: none other than the mechanical genius, Miles Prower, himself - and Knuckles!" He chuckled maniacally.

"I'm terribly sorry to say that I've stolen all your technological equipment - which was the main point of my plan - but also accidentally set your beloved workshop on fire - which was completely unintentional!"

Looking at the carcasses of wood that was once his paradise of machinery, Tails was paralysed. He opened his mouth, seemingly to retort, to insult the egg-shaped scientist who was responsible for the destruction of his most cherished possessions, but nothing came out, apart from a frail, distorted sound of terror.

Knuckles, however, was infuriated. Anger poured into his body like a viscous flow of lava. He could feel the urge to smash Eggman to smithereens as blood actively diverted itself to his muscles. His heart was engulfed with passionate flames of injustice, and the state of the dejected fox-boy only exacerbated his vexation.

"You savage!" The vermillion echidna yelled, and launched himself at the scientist. A swift Knuckles Upper hit Eggman straight in the chin, and sent him flying backwards into the pile of wood that was once the workshop.

"Woah - hold on a second! That's not fair! I wasn't ready!" Eggman whined, climbing out of the rubble. "Why don't you calm down -"

"Why don't _you_ shut up, and get the _hell_ outta here!" Knuckles raged, indignation clearly visible in his purple irises. "Let me send you back to that _miserable_ base of yours! Take this!"

Once again, he dashed towards the scientist, scampering for his Egg Mobile not far away. He was too slow, and a critical Meteor Punch to the shoulders slammed him flat onto the ground. Trying to ignore the searing pain, he continued to hasten to his spherical aircraft.

"Ow…I really should have kept some robots with me, instead of deploying all of them in the forest, just to be destroyed by that _damned_ hedgehog!" he moaned loudly, while climbing into his Egg Mobile. "But no matter. That hedgehog is mine now!"

And he flew away.

"Tails!" growled Knuckles, "Did you hear what Eggman just said?!"

Looking up with his sapphire irises, gleaming in the wetness of his tears, the fox-boy asked quietly, "What is it?"

"He's got Silver!"

* * *

_Shadow the Hedgehog…_it echoed.

"Just…who are you?!" The black hedgehog screeched in madness, his eyes still teary, his voice hoarse from crying. "Show yourself, wherever you are!"

And a black-purple starfish materialised in the air. Hovering, a large red eye fixed itself on the hedgehog, and its six small but grotesque limbs waved slowly.

"B-black Doom…" Shadow stuttered in alarm, "But…how?!"

"Never mind about _that_. I'm here to guide you through my third eye, and help you through your troubles and mysteries."

"I don't need your help. I will never succumb to your devilish manipulations again!" he screamed, "Chaos Spear!"

Bolts of energy shot towards the monster, but he simply vanished upon impact, and appeared again, unharmed.

"Don't be mistaken, Shadow, I'm not trying to invade this world. I'm just trying to help you," The starfish said cunningly, "As we are both related by blood, I feel it is my duty to aid you as a relative of mine."

Wincing at the word 'relative', the ebony hedgehog spat, "Never! My only relatives are Sonic and Silver. Don't you dare try to cover up your hellish machinations with this lame excuse."

"I expected this reception," the starfish hissed quietly, in an understanding tone, "But don't you want to save your brothers from their impending doom?"

"Y-yes," he stammered, after a long pause, "But I can do that myself, without your _unnecessary_ interference."

"I don't think so," he continued, "but with _my_ power and support, we will surely overwhelm _them_."

Shadow was having a terrible headache. He was being torn apart by his desire to save his brothers, and the evil manipulations of the wretched monster. Rubbing his temples and closing his eyes, he tried to clear his mind. In the darkness, he could almost see his brothers suffering, desperately calling for his help…

He stormed off, not wanting to feel the presence of Doom's Eye any longer. The alien starfish simply vanished into thin air.

"Sonic, Silver, I'm coming for you."

* * *

All was dark; there was not a single thread of light anywhere. The blue hedgehog stretched out his arms: forwards, backwards, upwards, sideways; in all occasions his hands hit the interior of the container, and overwhelming disgust swelled up in his stomach, not to mention that he found it quite difficult to breathe - and he was already carrying a load of other stressful worries on his mind.

He _hated_ being confined in such airless, tight spaces.

He revised the scene prior to his capture, and bit his tongue in perplexity. Shadow's voice screamed in his thoughts, and he shuddered at the image of his red eyes, dry and melancholic. But at the same time, somehow, he was glad, that he saved his brother from this situation.

Sonic closed his eyes. He didn't want to think any more than he did already. Miraculously, he fell asleep, but was soon woken up by a loud thud, followed by a miniature tremor. With nothing to hold on, he tumbled within the container in darkness, gnashing his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut in irritation.

Finally, the shaking subsided, and light relentlessly filled the darkness as the container opened after what seemed like an eternity, and relief coursed through his veins - but only briefly, for he recognised the environment and the fleeting feeling of freedom instantly dissipated. Sonic cautiously stepped out, and looked around. He was in a small cubic room of grey, and there was nothing but a heavily-secured door in the corner.

"Great," he muttered, sighing in utter exasperation and sarcasm; he opened the palm of his left hand, and began to tick off an imaginary checklist: "first, a distressed Tails wakes you up an hour or two earlier than usual in the morning, and then brings you to witness a catastrophe take place involving your brothers and friend. Knuckles is injured; Silver runs away; and you end up in a dire conflict with Shadow, not to mention that he's injured as well. And now, a claustrophobic environment. What a _perfect_ recipe for an _amazing_ day."

Pacing to one of the corners of the room, he faced the door. He curled himself into a ball of blue on the spot, and dashed straight ahead. It took him no more than a split second to smash into the door, but the unyielding gate of metal did not budge. Repeating this process, he once again rammed into the door, and again, and again, but the result was the same. Finally, he decided to stop; irritated beads of sweat dotted his forehead, and he growled in frustration, balling his fists.

Suddenly, an artificial, robotic voice sounded from the door, "Door opening. Please keep clear."

Immediately, the blue hedgehog's quills stood on end. This was escape, within his reach! He readied himself in the corner once again, thinking: as soon as the door slid open, he would charge out, wrecking anything in his way.

He took a deep breath, and again rolled into a ball, spinning excitedly on the spot…

And he shot straight out the door, a deadly bullet of blue, delivering a clean Light Speed Attack from a slick Light Speed Dash. But upon the initial collision, he stopped dead in his tracks. Contrary to his expectations, there was no robot. He did not hear the exhilarating explosion of machinery that caused him to be charged up with even more excitement. Instead, he had rammed into something soft and furry.

The azure hedgehog did not know how to react. His eyes threatened to go blind in stupefaction, and his heart had stopped in pure shock. He even slapped his face, hard, to clarify the harsh truth that stood so mercilessly in front of him - none other than a certain plump scientist, who oddly wore a shocked expression just like his. But his face soon grew into an ecstatic grin.

"Ha! I knew it!" shrieked the all-too-familiar malevolent voice, "I knew you would rashly dash out, so I placed the perfect substitute in front of the door!"

He looked at his ivory-coloured brother, unconscious and sprawled across the floor - because of him - and the match of reality lit up the flame of utter guilt in his heart, burning so violently; his rage spread around his body like a wildfire in the forest, contaminating his blood, making it boil in agitation; and furious tears leaked from his eyes unceasingly.

Trembling uncontrollably, he hissed, through gritted teeth, "You've really done it this time, Eggman…"

"Oh, have I? What have I done?" the plump scientist mocked sarcastically, "Now, now. Pull yourself together; don't let your rage consume you - it's not beneficial to your physical and mental health!" And he casually walked away and disappeared round the corner.

"You…made me attack…my…dear brother…" the azure hedgehog found it increasingly difficult to breathe, as if an invisible hand had clenched his organs tight. Squeezing his eyes shut, he collapsed onto his knees, still clutching his chest, oppressed with unbearable pain.

His fur began to change colour, and groans of torment and agony filled the entire corridor of metal.

* * *

_Shadow…_

The black hedgehog stopped abruptly in his tracks, troubled and irritated.

_Your brothers are in severe pain and discomfort…_

He clenched his jaws as the voice in his head echoed coldly with clarity.

_I will help you._

His body softened up and his eyes widened in shock as he thought he saw his blue and white brothers sprawled lifelessly in the distance. Without hesitation, he bolted towards them, but they disappeared just as his hands made contact with what was no more than an illusion.

For a brief moment, he was slightly mystified, but his red irises darkened in unspeakable fury as he realised his consciousness had been invaded by Black Doom, who was toying with his mind.

"You loathsome monster. Get out of my head," he seethed, words tinted with emotional blackness.

_Listen to me, Shadow._

He fell to his knees as his body was oppressed by an inconceivable force of malice. Closing his eyes and gritting his teeth in vexation, he could do nothing but listen to the obnoxious and detestable whispers in his mind.

_Right now, I am not at my full utility to aid you in your quest to achieve the salvation of your brothers. Go through the forest of Emerald Hill Zone; if you traverse into its true depths, you shall find the entrance to Mystic Cave Zone, a place overridden with vegetation amongst its eerie and dark environment. Continue to delve into the underground, and enter a spacious cave of endless darkness, and there, I will be waiting for you. Come and find me. With my power in your grasp, you will surely be able to overwhelm Eggman and his forces._

Finally freed from the oppressive force and the tormenting voice of depravity, the ebony hedgehog stood up, dignified, and declared, "Never! You and your malignant intentions are the last things I will need to save my brothers. Get out of my sight and body."

_I strongly suggest you reconsider your rash, illogical decision -_

"Get out of my life!" screamed Shadow. Immediately, he felt overwhelmed once again, except the force was stronger, inflicting cruel weight on his shoulders. He was perspiring intensely; his jaws were clenched, fists balled, and he tried to resist the burning feeling as tears of agony swelled up to his eyes. Slowly, every fibre of his being went numb, and his tense, rigid frame softened lifelessly; his mind went blank, and he unwillingly succumbed to the mesmerising voice of darkness, beckoning for him to yield.

_Come and find me._

* * *

Meanwhile, two silhouettes of red and orange wandered amidst the thickets of the forest.

"Tails, _where_ exactly are we?"

"I'm not sure…" he quivered, "I think we're lost."

Knuckles grunted in exasperation, "But that's odd. We never got lost in this forest before…"

"I know. I wonder what's wrong - wait a second! Knuckles! Look!"

"What's the matter?" Knuckles turned to where Tails was pointing. There was a small clearing, and a narrow path that led downwards to a deep and mysterious cave seemingly void of light.

"Isn't that…Mystic Cave? How did we get here?"

"Shall we turn back? We need to get to Metropolis as soon as possible!"

"Yeah, we - ugh!" the fox-boy fell to his knees, tormented; his eyes were firmly shut, his jaws clenched, his hands clutching the grass so tightly he was pulling out large batches of greens. Knuckles started towards him, but no sooner had he moved his feet did he also buckle under the repressive force that pinned the fox-boy to the ground. His body strained at the effort to resist the invisible weight of affliction; he felt as if he was carrying the entire world on his back. All of a sudden, both heard a voice echo in their heads.

_Miles Prower and Knuckles the Echidna._

The oppressive force was seemingly lifted from their bodies; they opened their eyes, and looked around. They saw nothing but each other, and darkness alone. Suddenly, an image of two hedgehogs in some sort of secret base appeared. The white one was lying, unmoving, on the metallic ground, yet his body parts twitched irregularly every few seconds, as if he had been electrocuted. His breathing was faint, and his chest was swollen, bruised with purple. The other one was more shocking; his fur no longer exhibited the bright blue colour of enthusiasm, but instead corrupt and dark, and was no longer smooth, but rough and disordered, pointing in all directions; his quills stood on end as his body trembled terribly in ire; and his breathing was staggered and uneven, for he sometimes took in deep, audible, painful breaths, and other times he would hyperventilate at the rate of a machine gun. He growled explosively in agony, and immediately after he reduced himself to merely a ball, shivering and whimpering; this went on seemingly endlessly.

Knuckles and Tails shuddered, utterly aghast. Sonic was never like this. Silver was unconscious, and that was already devastating enough, but Sonic's abnormal behaviour seemed to multiply their consternation tenfold.

"Who are you?! And…why are we here?" asked Tails, his voice wavering in distress.

Again, the chilling voice resonated in the darkness, mingled with the heart-rending groans of the suffering hedgehog. _It does not matter who I am. You are here because you need my help. I purposely misguided you through the forest with my illusions. _A brief pause. _As you can see, this is Eggman's base. Both Sonic and Silver are captured, and are being held captive._

"What happened to them?!" Knuckles demanded urgently.

_Sonic is possessed and overwhelmed by his inner rage, and Silver is unconscious. How it happened, I can not say._

"Please, tell us everything you know! We need to help them!" pleaded a desperate Tails.

_The only source of help you can get is from me. Venture into the depths of Mystic Cave, where I await your arrival. There is no time to spare. Shadow is already here._

"Shadow?!" exclaimed Knuckles, "Is he alright?!"

_You shall find out. Come and find me._

The icy whispers died away, and the cerulean hedgehog ceased to struggle with pain, except for the occasional jerking of limbs. Amongst the unnerving silence, Sonic opened his eyes, and an instinctive gasp of horror escaped the mouths of the fox-boy and echidna.

And they were thrown back into the hands of reality.

"D-did you see that, Knuckles?"

"Yeah…" he grimaced, unable to shake off the terror-inducing image, "we've no time to waste. Let's go to Mystic Cave."

* * *

His head was throbbing, and for once he was fully aware of the pain in his legs, inflicted by those thorns that the red echidna produced in their brawl. The surroundings were too dark, but after a short while he was scarcely able to make out the dangling tendrils of vegetation. He got up, and paced around in bewilderment. His footsteps seemingly echoed forever in the tenebrous environment of the cavern. And suddenly, it occurred to him.

A_ spacious cave of endless darkness._

"But how did I get here…?" he muttered to himself, "One moment ago I was still out in the open -"

And he remembered the oppressive forces physically exerting its malign dominance on his body. He roared indignantly, enraged, "By the name of that _damn_ fourth Chaos Emerald, Black Doom! Why can't you just leave me alone?! Why must I succumb to your…derogatory manipulations?!" then, after moments of silence, he closed his eyes, and realised how mad he was.

Out of nowhere, echoed a voice not far away, "Shadow?! Is that you?!"

"Who the hell are _you_?!" he screamed back into the dark

"It's me, Knuckles. Tails is here too."

"Hello, Shadow."

"Humph. Fine. But…why are you two here?" he spoke, filled with a sense of dread and foreboding. It simply can't be a coincidence that they were here too.

"We were told to come here by a voice -" began Tails.

"A v-voice…!" exclaimed Shadow, slightly too loudly.

"Yeah. Is everything okay?"

"Why, that _monster_…" he seethed, "the voice you heard belongs to none other than the malevolent Black Doom."

"Black Doom? Sounds creepy," Tails frowned in curiosity.

"Yes. _Black Doom_. But never mind that; what did he tell you?"

Tails swallowed hard, "Silver…and Sonic."

Upon hearing those very names, Shadow was instantly alert, "What is it?!"

Suddenly, the darkness began to stir, slowly swirling into a vortex of dark red. The three of them grabbed onto each other for support, resisting the strong gales of evil that raged in the air. After the whirlwind had subsided, they looked around. The environment had undergone an abrupt, drastic change; they were no longer in a spacious cavern, but instead in another dimension, standing on a desolate platform in an empty, distorted void of red.

A giant monster faced them with his depraved countenance and three eyes that was red as hell itself. His body was covered in a tattered robe, and many spiked ornaments and instruments hung loosely on his neck. He rubbed his fingers - hideous talon-like claws - in satisfaction, and deep laughter boomed into the distance. Tails and Knuckles felt shivers down their spines as they stared in disgust and horror at the creature towering over them, while Shadow wore an expression of the utmost resentment, his ruby-coloured irises aggrieved.

"_Monster_…" he growled.

"Miles Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, and, of course, _Shadow the Hedgehog_," the creature seemingly smirked at mentioning the black hedgehog; his hellish features rendered himself void of everything but evil.

"Wh-what is this…_thing_?" asked Tails, his voice trembling.

"I am _Black Doom_, former supreme leader of the Black Arms race that have become extinct, thanks to my biological _son_ right here," and he pointed to Shadow, who instantly maddened in anger and embarrassment. Knuckles and Tails turned to look at him in surprise and shock.

"That's your…_dad_?!" exclaimed Knuckles.

"NO! _NEVER_!" he shook his head, wincing in disgust, and spat, "I am _not_ your son. Get me to my brothers _now_."

"I think it is better for you to know their current state first," responded Black Doom smugly. Shadow said nothing, but feel his entire complexion tense upon apprehension. He wondered what the monster would say; he remembered witnessing Sonic's abduction - and he blamed it wholly on himself - but he knew nothing of Silver and his whereabouts. The dark deity projected the image of the blue and white hedgehogs, unveiling the situation, and reality rammed the black hedgehog hard in the face. The image was nearly identical to what Tails and Knuckles had seen earlier; Silver was still in his unfortunate state, sprawled on the soulless floor of metal; Sonic, however, was crouching, almost curled into a ball. His eyes were closed, as if in deep contemplation, but his breathing was raspy, strenuous and painful.

The entire world blurred and shimmered as distorting tears of heartbreak and anguish flooded his eyes. He stood there, unmoving, and let the droplets of water trickle freely down his cheeks. Shadow cried silently, choking back any sobs that forced its way up his throat. Knuckles and Tails closed in, and reached out their arms to embrace him with comfort and sympathy, but was gently pushed away by the devastated hedgehog.

"Yes, Shadow. In addition to the fact that you witnessed Sonic's abduction, Silver has _also_ been captured by Eggman, and both are suffering," Black Doom stated glacially.

"S-silver is senseless…and Sonic…SONIC!" he cried, and dropped to the ground, "His f-fur…It's all _your_ doing, isn't it, Black Doom?!"

"Shadow, don't be mistaken," he replied in a collected manner, "Your brothers need you. I shall now send you into Eggman's base," the monster waved his wrinkled hand methodically, and a sheet of darkness descended upon the floating platform, enveloping red, orange and black.

_Farewell. We shall meet again…_

* * *

Shadow opened his eyes. He was lying on a steel surface, and his eyes and face were dry, shrivelled from crying. He internally groaned as he got up, and saw Tails and Knuckles, both sprawled across the floor not far down the corridor. He ran towards them, and no sooner had he reached them did they also regain their consciousness.

Immediately, the echidna voiced the realisation of his surroundings, "We're in Eggman's base!" His voice rebounded with a mechanical resonance.

"Shhh, Knuckles!" whispered Tails, "You might attract the attention of Eggman's forces!"

"Oh, sorry," he hastened, immediately lowering his voice. The three were centred in a circular room, spacious, ponderous, and dimly lit. Eight pathways - identically grey and ominous - stretched from all sides. "Which way should we go?"

"This way," stated Shadow, pointing to the right. His decision somehow came instinctively, backed up with certainty and confidence. "I have a feeling about this."

The fox-boy and echidna nodded in unison, and, as carefully as they could, jogged on their toes to follow the already-moving hedgehog. Everywhere, lights flickered on and off erratically, and nothing could be heard but a brisk trio of footsteps, quietly spreading into the distance. As they proceeded into the depths of the base, the contrast of unstable lighting became blurred as the general level of brightness gradually diminished. Still, nothing else could be heard - no meek stirrings of contraptions, no robotic nuisances, nothing.

Finally, they came to a halt in a narrow corridor as they struggled to see in the dark. Slowly, they perceived an approaching _darkish_-blue figure coming from the distance, shrouded in a flame-like aura of black. Shadow held back a cry of terror as he looked straight into his eyes: his emerald irises were gone, leaving no more than a lifeless, absolute canvas of white, ablaze with bloodlust. His slow but definite walking was almost entirely silent, not a single step disrupting the unnerving, lifeless air.

"S-sonic…" said Shadow as his brother closed in, his voice unsteady. Memories of a traumatic nightmare passed through his mind in a split second - the dark skin, the aura, and the eyes. A numbing sensation of shock surged through his body, making his jet-black fur stand on end, as his brother spoke hoarsely, contaminated with hostility, the voice of a demon thirsty for revenge.

"Get out of my way."

"Sonic!" Knuckles stepped forwards, declaring, "We're here to help. We can do this together."

"I don't need _your_ help," he snarled poisonously.

They stared in awe at his unexpected aggression. Sonic was never like this - and yet, somehow they knew that this wasn't the Sonic they knew, the carefree, easygoing _Blue Blur_.

"Sonic - no, you're _not_ Sonic…" Shadow stated coldly as his voice faltered.

"I am the mighty _Dark_ Sonic, and _nothing_ stands in my way."

He shuddered. "Wh-what do you want?!"

"I want Eggman's _life_," the hedgehog snarled, his barbaric intentions aroused, causing his aura of darkness to intensify, "I will gouge his eyes out and shove it down his throat, choking him to death; I will rip his heart out, and shred his organs into juice that I shall spill; I will spike his head through a stake, and leave it to rot in hell; and I will tear him apart with my bare hands, and cleanse his base with his blood," and to this, he cackled in madness as his blank eyes raged with a vindictive wildfire.

"You're insane. You're not Sonic…no, you can't be Sonic…" Shadow repeated weakly without realising. He felt his body convulse in uncomprehending astonishment and his mind go dizzy; he lifted up a trembling hand to support himself as he tilted towards the wall, Knuckles and Tails rushing over to pull him up straight again. They were sickened, disgusted, even, at the monster in front of them whom they once called brother and friend.

"No…we can't let him do this, not even to Eggman," Tails whispered to Knuckles and Shadow, then faced the darkened Sonic boldly, "We're not going to move, Sonic! We can't let you do this!"

To this, Dark Sonic roared with laughter once again, "I thought you'd say so. You seem like a great opportunity for me to warm up my hands - they are thirsty for blood; if you don't move out of the way, I'll _kill_ you too."

"You're…a psychopath," Shadow seethed through heavy breaths. Beads of perspiration littered his forehead as he strained, "You're not my brother. You're not my _Faker_ and impostor. You're _not_ Sonic…"

"Yes, I _am_," he sneered, baring his sharp teeth, "and I'll be happy to prove it to you."

The black hedgehog felt his head smash against metal as he was pinned down by a dark figure at lightning speed. Instinctively, Knuckles started towards the attacker. Tails quickly rolled into a ball at the side of the red echidna, who threw out his fist with full force, whipping out a missile of orange and launching a perfectly-coordinated Dash Attack. But Dark Sonic saw it coming; one hand still pressed onto a chest of snow-white fur, he lashed out the other, simply deflecting the incoming attack. The fox-boy hit the wall with a _bang_.

"Tails!" shrieked Knuckles.

"I-I'm okay!"

"_Pathetic_," growled Dark Sonic, his black aura intensifying from the heat of battle, "Don't you even _dare_ try -" he was cut short as Shadow held up his hands, launching blasts of Chaos Energy straight into the face of his oppressor. But he recovered almost instantaneously; Shadow swiftly rolled out of the way, scarcely avoided a rapid Windmill attack. Dark Sonic once again propelled himself towards his brother, twisting his body to perform a Somersault Kick, hitting the ebony hedgehog flat on the chest. He flew out, groaning and wincing in pain as his ribcage seemed to crumble to the direct blow, all oxygen escaping from his lungs in the very moment of impact, forced out. Ignoring the throbbing pain in his chest, he spun backwards and landed on his feet, and no sooner retaliated with an Edge Kick in a flash, tackling the darkened hedgehog to the ground.

"Knuckles, Tails!" shouted Shadow, panting intensely, "Run! Go find Silver!"

"B-but Shadow -" started a trembling fox-boy.

"JUST SHUT UP AND GO -"

"Never! No one leaves this place alive…" The dark blue figure sprung up, pushing the black hedgehog away, as two forms of red and orange scampered into the distance. Tails turned back in terror to see an inflamed figure in pursuit; his traumatised sky-blue eyes momentarily reflected the deranged aura of fire, threatening to consume him to insane ashes. They turned the corner just as an explosion halted their chaser in his tracks.

"Come and face your _brother_, _demon_!" the ebony hedgehog taunted through gritted teeth, hands glowing in a mellow hue of yellow as he unleashed Chaos Blast, catching his opponent in a shockwave. Its expanding radius drowning him in the overwhelming field of negative Chaos Energy. He dropped to the ground as the shockwave dispersed, but his expression of fury exhibited no trace of injury.

"Not bad, _Shadow_," he mocked, his lips contorted into a grotesque frown of malice, "But your proficiency in combat will only give me more satisfaction when I tear you to shreds!" With this, he charged ahead with brilliant speed, as if unaffected by the attack merely seconds ago. The ebony hedgehog threw up his hands, defending himself with pulses of Chaos Spear, before rolling to the side and avoiding a brutal Kick Attack.

"You can only dodge my attacks for so long, _brother_, and you know that." Dark Sonic hissed, flashing a large, vicious grin to the black hedgehog who stood opposite him no more than a metre away, panting and looking back with his determined red eyes.

"I'll never give up. I'll do anything it takes to stop you."

"I am unstoppable. You should have realised by now. You should have scampered for your dear life in the first place, Shadow, being the weakling you are. I would have _relished_ the prospect of chasing you to your doom! You were _foolish_ to even remain within my grasp. You were _mad_ to even question my motives -" Abruptly, he howled and sank down in pain. The aura shrouding his being wavered.

"Sonic!" Shadow rushed over, but a fist shot out, sending him back. He lay on the ground, winded, as Dark Sonic confidently approached him. The black hedgehog initiated a Chaos Attack in defence, but yelped in pain as his opponent grabbed his legs and twisted them outwards, the sound of joints cracking bouncing against metal walls. He was then violently slammed onto the floor. The ball of navy continued his assault, relentless Spin Attacks ramming into the black figure on the floor, giving the pained hedgehog zero opportunity to regain his breath. Helpless, Shadow clenched his jaws and closed his eyes; he was agonised, but he could see his flames of indomitable will burn brighter with every collision that slowly caused his body to go numb. Enduring the excruciating pain, he felt the quickening pace of his beating heart; his muscles were fuelled with blood and charged with adrenaline, and nothing would be able to extinguish his spirit. His entire being was shrouded in a mellow aura of red and yellow. He was going to put this to a stop, and nothing could stop him now…

The blows to his chest ceased. "I gotcha now, _Shadow_," sneered Dark Sonic. Looking with smug intrigue at his silent brother, he continued, "You're so _weak_. I thought you'd offer me a much more exhilarating battle - my hands aren't even _warm_! It's such a disappointment that I'll have to finish you right here…" He raised his claws, preparing to strike the fatal blow.

_Not so quick_, he thought, and, concentrating all his Chaos powers, disappeared into thin air.

The predatory hedgehog was instantly confused, flooded with unexplainable rage, as his prey simply vanished into thin air. But the anger didn't last. He was once again forced to the ground, oppressed with tormenting pain.

For a brief moment, his green irises reappeared.

* * *

Contrary to the rest of his base, Eggman's control room was cozy and comfortable, furnished in a highly luxurious manner. The rotund scientist was standing in front of a gilded, polished mirror, silently smirking back at him. He delicately stroked his furry, overgrown moustache with an oversized index finger and thumb - _moustache is key, moustache is perfection, moustache is _evil. Once he deemed his physicality to be flawless, he relaxedly strode to the other side of the room, where the regularly-used coffee machine stood, and made himself a hot drink. He watched in satisfaction as evil coffee slowly filled the evil mug.

He didn't actually intend to have used Silver as a shield, nor did he expect Sonic to have so wildly dashed out of the cell - it was purely an accident. His only intention was to confine the white hedgehog into the same cell as the blue one - why he did this he did not know. Thinking about it again, he chuckled at the absurdity of the idea of putting two brother hedgehogs together. But he'd gladly take what had happened. He relished the scene of his arch-enemy groaning, internally squirming in tortuous pain. It made him feel victorious, though, as he believed so, he didn't play a significant part in his severe anguish.

The machine automatically switched off, having detected that the mug was almost full. The Doctor smiled. Even though it wasn't much, almost too easy to do for a man of 300 IQ, he still couldn't cease to marvel at the little technical details that he had programmed into his inventions. _And now_, he thought, eyes shimmering with excitement at the sack full of mechanical parts and components, _I could enhance them even more with everything I stole - I mean, _borrowed_ \- from that two-tailed mutant fox-kid!_ He imagined himself giving a hearty, vivid performance of his evil laugh.

He slouched back into his couch, mug in hand - careful not to spill or lose any of his precious coffee. But no sooner had he made himself comfortable had a slight tremor seized him from his idle state. He jerked up in shock, and, contrary to his wishes, most of the contents from his recently-filled cup of evil coffee flew out. He grimaced as the liquid fell onto the ground with a _splat_, looking dismally into the almost-empty container that held what was left of the drink. Grunting as he got up abruptly, as fast as his legs could take him, he scurried to his Egg Mobile. Climbing in and jabbing a complex pattern of buttons, Eggman rushed out of his control room in the core of his metallic hideout, zigzagging through the narrow corridors as the sound of catastrophe amplified.

* * *

Dark Sonic, having been deceived, howled a mixture of agony and anger, as the black hedgehog cunningly landed his Air C. Burst attack, hitting him square in the head. The entire base seemed to tremble at the sheer force of the attack. He twisted his body to face his attacker, but was confronted with a barrage of Chaos Spears that rained down on him like shooting stars of pain. No sooner had the bombardment ceased did he feel his jawbone splinter, lower teeth driving into upper, as Shadow performed a clean Chaos Upper, sending him into flying down the corridor. The ebony hedgehog felt unstoppable, _invincible_, enveloped in an intense aura of red, yellow and orange. He was about to charge ahead with a Shadow Dash when the unmoving body in front of him twitched and flickered between blue and indigo, snapping him out of his trance-like Chaos state.

_No. He's my brother, not some monster to subdue._

Shaking off any remnants of Chaos-induced obsessiveness and desire in his muscles, he ran towards his brother with a strong sense of urgency, but drastically slowed his steps in cautiousness as the figure, no more than a few metres away, abruptly lifted his head and jerked out his arm, groaning through gnashed teeth.

"Y-you…" he strained, "Sh-shadow…I…y-you…help…!"

The agony of confusion suddenly sparked his unstable aura of darkness. He screamed as the insane fire grew, and, when it had completely consumed the hedgehog, it imploded, scattering nothing but utter blackness. Shadow raised his arms to shield himself from the shattered flames, but could not protect his heart from being wrenched out of place by the harrowing cries. He lowered his arms after all was silent; through his teary eyes, he saw his brother, sprawled across the metallic floor.

He was blue again, the blue he always was, no longer possessed by an unforgiving blaze of madness. Only now did bruises and lacerations show so acutely on his peach-coloured skin and azure fur. Shadow scooped him up into his arms, looking into regretful, enervated eyes, drained of all liveliness.

"Sonic…" he spoke, worried to the utmost extent, "I gotcha now. Everything will be alright…"

The weakened body could manage no more than a feeble cough in response.

"You're safe with me, Sonic. Everything will be fine."

"No," an unnaturally-resolute word grabbed the attention of the black hedgehog, whose tears started to make their way down his cheeks.

"What do you mean?!"

"That way…" the cerulean hedgehog lifted his arm arduously, and pointed into the distance. His limb dropped down in lethargy in no more than a second, and he looked faint and light-headed, as if he was about to pass out. His breathing was abnormally strained and heavy.

"Please, Sonic! What is it?!" Desperate for an answer, the sable-coloured hedgehog summoned as much encouragement into his soft-spoken voice. But his azure brother had already closed his eyes.

"_Damn_ the Chaos Emeralds! I was too slow…" Shadow squeezed his eyelids shut, forcing out an array of tears, as he collapsed onto his knees. The droplets accumulated on his cheek, and one by one slowly dripped onto the still, slumped body in his grasp. Time itself seemed to leak out of thin air, draining into the far end of the corridor, where even more darkness and flickering lights beckoned.

Suddenly, realisation dawned on him, just as two silhouettes - red and orange - emerged from the distance, carrying the body of a certain white hedgehog.

* * *

The Egg Mobile manoeuvred from corridor to corridor. It would've been fun for the scientist, like a thrilling rollercoaster ride, except it wasn't. The Doctor was still in a grim mood after losing his much-needed drink, caffeinated with evil - he wasn't feeling _evil_ enough. He kept smashing the buttons while grumbling a chain of insults, urging his vehicle to go faster, as if in road rage with other non-existent drivers.

"What in the world is that nuisance of a hedgehog up to now…?! I should have seized the opportunity to properly imprison him and his brother while they were incapacitated! What a terrible mistake -"

And his aircraft came to an abrupt halt as three figures turned round to face him. Electrical impulses of vexation surged through his neurones.

* * *

_"Sonic, where are we?"_

_"I don't know, Silver."_

_"This place is so creepily dark," the white furry remarked innocently. Both recoiled in shock as a third voice diffused into their conversation. The blue and white hedgehogs felt their bones solidify in wintry coldness as the whispery sound permeated their entire bodies._

_"Welcome, Sonic the Hedgehog, Silver the Hedgehog."_

_"What?! Wh-who are you?! Show yourself!" the ivory hedgehog retorted instinctively._

* * *

"How did you get into my base without being discovered?! My external security system is in _pristine_ condition! There is absolutely no way you could have sneaked into my mechanical heaven!"

"That's…none of your business," Shadow replied with an artificial calmness, "I strongly advise you to retreat, Doctor, for you are outnumbered. You'd be much better off hiding in that miserable control room of yours."

"Oh, I don't think so!" and the Doctor prepared his attacks; gears shifting, cannons jutted out from the lower part of his Egg Mobile. "My reinforcements should arrive soon, and I'll finish you right here! All of you!"

* * *

_"I am Black Doom."_

_"Black Doom…?" Silver was perplexed, bewildered at such an ominous name, but Sonic was instantly alert, his green orbs gleaming with sharpness._

_"Black Doom…you're Shadow's…h-his -" He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence, and grimaced in disgust._

_"Indeed, I _am_," the voice seemed to come from all directions._

_The tense silence was like a heavy bog of confusion for Silver, who looked at Sonic with a mixture of worried eagerness, and softly, childishly tugged at his arm for an explanation. His curiosity was responded to not by an upbeat tone that usually came from his brother, but instead rigid words._

_"No one knows, apart from me, about this, and Shadow…but it's about time you know too."_

* * *

The black hedgehog placed his unconscious brother on the floor in a fast yet delicate manner, and curled himself into a ball of black, Spin Attacking the Egg Mobile as it beamed lasers in a frenzied and spontaneous manner. But a brief moment of distraction - his mind occupied with his brothers - caused him to be hit by the lasers, scorching his knee. He fell back, his furry skin slapping hard onto metal. Silently, he scolded his carelessness.

"Shadow! You alright?!" shouted a startled Tails.

"I'm fine!" The black hedgehog leapt back up, and once again dashed towards the scientist.

"We'll help you!" added a pugnacious Knuckles, as he eagerly smashed his two fists together, and leapt towards the conflict between the ebony hedgehog and the mechanical egg.

* * *

_"What if he doesn't want me to know?"_

_The azure hedgehog took a deep breath amidst the infinitely spacious environment. "Brothers have trust. Brothers have support. They have a fond attachment for each other. They openly confide in each other, and share their deepest secrets, joys and sorrows, because their hearts beat as one, and they believe in each other." His reverberating voice oscillated into the eternal surroundings of darkness._

_To this, a genuine sadness filled the eyes of the ivory hedgehog. He nodded, his eyelids suddenly heavy, "I said some really mean things earlier this morning to you, to Shadow - my brothers - Knuckles and everyone else…I'm terribly sorry."_

_Sonic bitterly pressed his lips together, but his eyes nonetheless glowed a profound hue of understanding, "No, don't be," and he continued, "I'm certain Shadow would be perfectly fine with me telling you about this. I'm quite surprised he hasn't told you yet."_

_"What makes you say that?" Silver asked, his voice hesitant and soft._

_"Because we're _brothers_, aren't we?"_

* * *

"Knuckles! What the hell are you doing?!" screamed Shadow.

"I'm trying to help!" replied the red echidna as both landed onto the ground after he rammed his spiked knuckles into the Egg Mobile, just before the black hedgehog was about to launch an intricately calculated Chaos Attack.

"You're not helping me by getting in my _damn_ way - HOLY CHAOS EMERALDS! GO AND PROTECT SONIC AND SILVER!" Shadow was suddenly frantic; he shoved a perplexed Knuckles back towards where Tails stood adjacent to his unconscious brothers. The vermillion echidna turned his head to face the fox-boy, and his heart almost leapt out of his throat. He launched himself beyond a slightly-trembling Tails, into the permeating mass of approaching Badniks.

"You'll never defeat my unceasing and endless robotic forces!" sneered Eggman, as he continued to fire lasers from his vehicle.

"We'll see about that!" asserted Knuckles, as his fists continually penetrated the metallic bodies. Meanwhile, the fox-boy whipped out his spanner, and waved it in the air like a racket, deflecting the incoming lasers.

* * *

_"Shadow wasn't pure hedgehog, like us. He was manipulated into delivering the seven Chaos Emeralds in exchange for the information he sought. I was with him," said Sonic, as a sad look painted his expression, "We were lied to. I knew something wasn't right, and I tried to convince him, but…the temptation was too great, and…it cost us dearly," the blue hedgehog went stiff at his last sentence._

_"Yes. My plan to exploit him as a catalyst to spread my long-gone Black Arms race, for he had their genes - _my_ genes - backfired. He utterly obliterated my extensive family, as well as his own," a cruel whisper answered in interruption, and amidst the unfathomable darkness emerged the possessor of the chilling voice. The white hedgehog stared in awe at the monstrous figure, marvelled yet frightened by his horrific presence; it only amplified the cautiousness of the blue hedgehog._

_"_We_ are his family. Yours never was, and will never be," Sonic seethed, feeling tides of indescribable anger rise up in his body, against the barrier of melancholia._

_Laughing virulently, the monstrous entity continued, "I scarcely survived. Time has slowly and painfully healed me in the slightest. But now I shall return stronger than ever."_

_He seemingly vanished in all quietness, camouflaged into the perfect darkness, as the two hedgehogs looked around in anxiety. The blue one neared the white one, and wrapped an arm round his body. Suddenly, a crippling sensation of coldness surged through their bodies as Black Doom waved his arms, shrouding them in his robes of darkness. Sonic and Silver collapsed onto the ground, engulfed in the shadows of Black Doom._

_"Now I shall return stronger than ever…" hissing words echoed in all emptiness._

_All was dark. All was silent._

* * *

Suddenly, an otherworldly tremor disrupted the battle. The robots stopped moving, and oddly crumbled to the ground. Eggman shrieked in distress, "What is the meaning of this?!" and, after a brief moment of silent consideration, he scampered away.

The creatures all turned to look at each other, then the escaping scientist, in a puzzled manner.

"You're not getting away, Eggman!" raged Shadow, but his eyes widened in terror as the bodies of Sonic and Silver began to shimmer, distorting into empty air. Likewise, Knuckles and Tails stood in uncomprehending, speechless shock.

"No…no. No," muttered the ebony hedgehog helplessly, as he watched his brothers vanish in front of his eyes. He ran to the disappearing bodies, but as soon as he made contact, they were gone.

The tremor ceased; all that's left was a void silence and the sheer weight of nothingness.

The three creatures stood motionlessly. The fox-boy and echidna looked solemnly at the lone hedgehog, who stared with a certain, empty quietness at the wall.

* * *

Having realised that he was not being followed, Eggman slowed his engines and sighed an audible growl. He drove slowly back to his control room, muttering and grumbling in exasperation. He passed through his double-locked security gates, hopped off his Egg Mobile, and paced towards the sack of precious mechanical parts that glittered metallically on the floor of the room. All the annoyance seemed to leave his face as he smiled smugly and confidently.

"Just you wait, you spiked fiends, when I let loose my powerfully-upgraded creations on you!" Out of intrigue and excited fascination, he childishly poked the bits of utility in the sack. Then, he light-heartedly walked towards the anticipating coffee machine, and made himself another much-needed energising drink of evil. He didn't even sit down - as soon as the mug was filled, he carefully seized the container from the machine and, bringing it to his mouth, drank eagerly, hoping for the it to make up for the earlier spillage. He recoiled dumbly as the boiling liquid burned his lips, unintentionally losing half the contents to the floor once again.

* * *

The wall began to warp and distort in a swirling, circular motion. A dark hole expanded through the seemingly impenetrable metal, and with it emerged a sucking force that gripped the trio, pulling them into an alien dimension. Sensing their resistance, an all-too-familiar voice came from the portal, beckoning for them to enter.

_Come to your brothers. They await you beyond this wall._

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

And Part Three awaits you…beyond some time.

Hope you liked this Part. As much as the work itself is a few years old and my writing style may have changed, do still be sure to let me know what you think of it!


	3. Chapter 3

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

The last part is here. What will Shadow find beyond the wall?

* * *

**PART THREE**

* * *

The trio landed on what seemed like a layer of unfathomable darkness. They looked around.

All was dark. All was silent.

"This place…" Immediately, Shadow tensed up. It was hard to breathe.

"You've…been here before?" asked Tails, absent-mindedly.

"In my nightmares…" his voice faltered as two glowing figured emerged in the dark distance, radiating a hue of blue and white. Without second thoughts, he ran towards them.

"Shadow!"

The echidna and fox-boy yelled; suddenly they were hovering in midair, their bodies paralysed and constricted by unseeable ropes.

"Knuckles! Tails! What's the matter?!"

"What is this?!" growled a confused Knuckles.

"I can't move, at all!" cried Tails.

"I am the matter." The midnight hedgehog whipped his head around, and faced the monstrous body towering over him.

"Black Doom…so this is all your doing!" he seethed, feeling a storm brew inside his body.

"Yes, indeed, it is."

"Let us go!" shouted Knuckles, awkwardly helpless.

"I see we have some unnecessary guests in this room," he remarked cunningly.

"Do as he says, Black Doom. Release them now."

"Foolish beings. They're quite noisy, don't you think, Shadow? I think it's better we have a more private and personal conversation…" Black Doom turned towards the suspended bodies of red and orange, and waved his arms, "Begone, _weak mortals_."

And the bodies of Knuckles and Tails fell, through the floor, and was gone.

"Wh-what did you do to them?!"

"They have been suspended in eternal darkness," he responded, laughing deeply.

"Y-you…monster…I will destroy you once more, this time for good!"

"I don't think so…" he moved aside in an agile manner, and gestured at the levitating bodies of blue and white, whose glow seemed to dim by the second, "Let's take a look at your brothers."

"S-sonic. Silver…what's happening to them?!" his red orbs began to shimmer as tears pricked irritably at his eyes.

Black Doom grinned with evil satisfaction, "They are _dying_. I have been absorbing their Chaos Energy. It will guarantee my immortality, and no one will be able to stop me." He swept his arm, and the blue and white bodies vanished.

The midnight hedgehog stood in motionless anger. He could almost feel his own Chaos Energy drain away as Sonic and Silver grew weaker by the second. Trembling with indignation, the rings that hung loosely on his wrists slipped off. They clashed onto the dark surface below, and a metallic resonance rippled into eternal darkness. No sooner did the rings on his ankles drop as well, and, no longer inhibited, he felt the immediate surge of power fill his entire body. In the realm of eternal darkness, his fur glistened to the call of his Chaos Energy. Soon, as his body lightened towards a bright yellow, he became a beacon of his own, illuminating the infinite blackness. Finally, the transformation ended with an outburst of light; Black Doom raised his shrivelled arms and recoiled at such force, but he hid a smug smile.

"This is your end, Black Doom. Prepare for your immortal death!" shouted Super Shadow, his voice booming with the ferocity of Chaos Energy. But he frowned in disgust as the monster simply laughed back at him.

"Ignorant mortal!" he mocked, "You really think you could defeat me? Your brothers' Chaos Energy gives me power, and I will show you what I shall become - invincible and immortal!"

The hedgehog's gleaming red irises widened in shocking intrigue as his enemy seemed to glow in a malignant aura of black. Slowly, the entire dimension of nothingness shook, and the unfathomable floor seemed to crack under them. The wispy, chilling laughter of Black Doom reverberated endlessly, as, slowly, his eyes shrunk in size until they were completely gone. His head began to elongate in an uncanny fashion, then diverging into two separate branches in opposite directions; one grew two horizontal horns, and the other a single, protruding vertical horn. Menacing jaws extended from both faces. Likewise, his body also expanded in size, and in no time he was looming over the lone speck of brightness, a firefly in a night of evil, slender arms and claws outstretched. The legless torso spawned tentacle-like extensions, and magically attached itself to what looked like a boulder that rose out of the darkness. Wings sprouted from the upper-half of his body, and miniature spines, strangely pointing downwards, emerged next to his two necks. Finally, an eye appeared on the face with twin horns, facing the hedgehog.

"Intimidated, scared, Shadow the Hedgehog?" his voice, in addition to retaining its glacially, was serrated with a tinge of insanity. The eye diminished and disappeared once again, only to appear on the other head. The monstrous figure turned half a full revolution such that his eye faced the hedgehog again. "I pity you. You're small and puny compared to me. You have nothing against me but your bare, incapable hands."

"No," responded the resolute hedgehog. "I have my brothers by my side - _within_ me - I can feel it, our hearts beating as one."

Devil Doom sneered in his deep voice, "Your loyalty and attachment to your brothers is what makes you so weak and vulnerable." He brought his claws together, cupped, and the motionless bodies of Sonic and Silver materialised once again, hovering weightlessly in his grasp, "Come, come closer, and savour your last moments with your brothers, Shadow the Hedgehog."

"Sonic…Silver…" the super hedgehog flew at once towards his brothers. He now stood at an arm's length, and looked into their closed eyes and still faces, their blue and white auras dimming by the second. He reached out his blazing hands, wanting to stroke their fur and hold their delicate hands in his own, but - in all ruthless trickery - they disappeared upon contact, much to the appeal of Devil Doom, who boomed with discordant laughter.

"Y-you…detestable tyrant!" cried Shadow hysterically.

"Yes. They will soon be gone," continued the giant gargoyle-like creature, "and _so will you_.

"Prepare to die, Shadow the Hedgehog."

Devil Doom rose up with surprising agility, whipping up a gust of darkness. High up, his eye, the colour of sunset, shone like a devilish beacon, threatening to mislead and devour the souls of the astray. Shadow found himself staring into the magnificent organ of red, and felt the Chaos Energy escape his body, wisps of yellow absorbed by the draining eye.

He hastily turned round, closing his eyes. The leaking sensation was gone, and he felt as powerful as ever. _Don't look into the eye,_ he thought to himself. It was then that he heard the flapping of wings - small, light wings - growing in loudness. Mutant-like aliens spawned from the hellish behemoth, rapidly approaching him. Devil Doom complacently observed the annoyed hedgehog.

"My children! You are free to feed on the blood of this unfaithful traitor, who wholly betrayed his family for two pathetic mortals!" screeched the monster. The horde of smaller fliers uttered impish, high-pitched growls, seemingly in collective agreement.

"You…absolutely _disgust_ me!" shouted the blazing hedgehog, "Chaos Blast!"

A brilliant explosion of Chaos Energy expanded into the distance, utterly wiping out all the incoming specks of black. The Super hedgehog dashed for the enemy, but recoiled as a jet of fire came straight for him. He whizzed to the side, scarcely avoiding Devil Doom's fire breath. The new horde of freshly-born aliens squealed hyperactively as they closed in to Shadow from all sides.

"Chaos Blast!"

Another circular fulmination enveloped the mass of flying creatures, but this time, they were not vaporised to the sheer power of Chaos. Instead, they morphed into hardened meteors and floating debris. Shadow groaned in surprise and revulsion.

"Chaos Blast!" Shadow tried again, but the solid objects were still afloat, unharmed.

"It's no use, Shadow. Your efforts are futile. It is better you stop resisting and give in to your ultimate fate!"

And the otherworldly meteors all turned to the central hedgehog, and beamed lasers, forming an intricate web of scorching pain. A numb hotness overwhelmed his senses; he opened his mouth, wanting to scream, but nothing came out from the convulsing body. After the lasers subsided, the meteors all flew into the pained hedgehog and exploded upon impact. Shadow fell to the floor, groaning as his face rammed into darkness.

Devil Doom roared with laughter.

The hedgehog quickly regained himself, "It's not over yet! Chaos Spear!" Missiles of Chaos Energy launched themselves at the towering monster. Upon impact, they simply dissipated.

"I cannot be harmed. I am untouchable -" And a Chaos Spear struck him square in the eye. He squawked in pain.

_That's it!_ thought Shadow, _That's his weakness!_

"I know what you are thinking, Shadow," stated Devil Doom, "You may have gotten lucky, but _lightning never strikes twice_. There is no second time." The eye swapped round to the other head, facing away from Shadow, "Believe it or not, I can still see you perfectly, even with my eye facing away."

Shadow ran, curving to the side, trying to find the hidden eye. Fireballs rained down from above, illuminating the emptiness of the dark dimension. The hedgehog looked up; Devil Doom was spitting giant spheres of flame at him. The comets of flame landed, forming pools of agitated fire, dancing wildly, as if in a ritual of madness. He leaped to the side as a fireball almost crashed onto him; he leapt again, and again, trying to look for a glaring eye of redness on the monster -

He slipped, and fell to the ground. Balls of fire consumed him in a devilish inferno. He screamed, he howled, but the flames only grew greater still.

Devil Doom zoomed in with pleasure. "Give up now, _mortal_. I grow stronger by the second, and you become weaker. There is no way you can win."

The fires dissipated in a mocking hiss. Shadow dropped flat onto the unfathomable floor, his arms slack and legs loose. His Super aura flickered in instability as the giant eye peered into his soul, sucking his power away. With difficulty, he reached for his Chaos Emerald, and clenched it tight.

"Chaos…Control!"

He was greeted by a taunting wave of silence. Devil Doom did not freeze in time, nor did the feeling of power being usurped from his body disappear.

"In my dimension, the force of Chaos is negligible," Devil Doom let out a harsh chuckle, as the Emerald began to dim, "So weak, and so pathetic…your stubbornness cost you your life, Shadow the Hedgehog. It all ends here."

Shadow closed his eyes, admitting to despair. _Does it all end here? Was all this worth nothing?_ He asked himself with a feeble sense of injustice…

Suddenly, clear, piercing voices cut through his unconsciousness. The Chaos Emerald glowed again, as bright as ever.

_Shadow! C'mon! You can do this! I believe in you!_ an optimistic voice echoed. It belonged to Sonic.

_Shadow! You got this! Don't give up - I know you won't!_ another voice added. It belonged to Silver.

_Yes! I can do this._ He stirred, groaning. _I _CAN_ DO THIS!_ The groans soon turned into a growl, and then a roar - a battle cry. Devil Doom recoiled in anger and surprise as the Super hedgehog rose again, empowered by determination; his red irises glowed with confidence.

"No, Devil Doom," he retorted, with a new sense of confidence, "This is just the beginning. _My_ beginning; and I'll prove it to you!"

"Fine, then!" screamed the monster, "Come, and meet your doom!"

Both rose into the air once more. The ablaze hedgehog moved with renewed agility, trying to get a glimpse of the large, red eye; but Devil Doom moved with a rivalling swiftness, and easily hid his eye from view. Colossal spheres of fire rained down on him once again, flames burning brighter evermore as they descended towards him. He retaliated with a quickly-charged Chaos Blast, the bright fulmination of Chaos energy slowly tearing apart the menacing meteors of hell. One was destroyed right on top of him.

His heart gave a lurch at a new observation.

Devil Doom was staggering, temporarily fatigued at launching his massive attacks. His gigantic body slightly wavering in the air.

_And _this_,_ thought Shadow, triumphant, as he caught a brief part of the eye of the swaying monster, _Is my chance!_

He hastily glided in the air towards the towering giant, and glided round his body. In no time was the depleting eye fully visible to him once again.

Devil Doom roared at the sight of the bright comet, instantly swapping his eye to the other side, "Yes, that's right; you can never defeat me. You'll never be fast enough to catch my eye!" To prove his point, he tauntingly moved his eye back, momentarily facing the fuming hedgehog, before it disappeared again.

"Scared, big baby?" mocked Shadow, smirking, "You're tired. You're exhausted. You will not last long."

The monster returned a response of rasping laughter. "You think so? How ignorant and short-sighted is the mortal mind…Can't you see?" and two floating hedgehogs of blue and white appeared in his palm, "They are almost dead. And I shall soon become invincible!"

"No…NO! Sonic and Silver are not going to die, not like this, not with me still here! They shall not perish under the bare hands of a tyrant!" screamed Shadow.

The glowing hues of blue and white vanished. "But they are. You've seen for yourself, haven't you, Shadow?"

The images of his brothers were too true. The Super hedgehog found himself wordless and helpless, but voices that sent surges of the utmost pleasure around his body emerged in his mind.

_Don't listen to him, that horrific creature!_ cried Sonic. _You have to stay strong! Don't let his words shatter your confidence!_

_That's right!_ added Silver, _And whatever happens, we're always here, with you! You're powerful, Shadow, and he is scared. He's tired! Use that to your advantage!_

_I know you can do this!_ they both cheered.

Shadow did not reply to the Devil Doom's comment. Instead, he began circling round the behemoth.

"What are you doing?!" he screeched.

_Attack me,_ prayed the hedgehog, _Attack me now._

"Whatever. It is about time this has ended. I will crush your mortal life with my bare hands. _Children_!" he shrieked, and a large mass of impish critters flourished into the air. The sound of their wings rattled, an outlandish, otherworldly sound that sent a chill down the spine of the flying hedgehog.

_Why isn't he attacking me?! Not his minions, again!_ he raged internally.

_Shadow!_ called the voice of Sonic, _Why don't you tell a joke?_

_A joke?! Why the hell would I make a joke in such a dire situation?!_ he screamed back in his head.

_It'll definitely get him started!_ replied the cerulean hedgehog, _How about this…_

Shadow winced. _That's absolutely disgusting!_

_Well, it's clearly working on you - so it must work on Devil Doom, right?_ he laughed.

_Don't you dare mention us together -_

_Hey, calm down, I was joking!_

_You better be._

_It was meant to cheer you up and boost your determination, Shadow!_

_Well, thanks a lot,_ he retorted with a tinge of sarcasm, but his heart warmed and softened. _Yeah, thank you, Sonic._ He took a deep breath, and boomed, "Devil Doom! Giving birth is such a laborious job, isn't it?!" _Yuck…_He gaped his mouth in a puking manner as he vomited out Sonic's joke, "Were there any stillbirths?!"

"Insolent mortal! I will make the last moments of your miserable life laborious!" The gargoyle-like creature sprayed a torrent of fire, aiming straight for the hedgehog, who moved out of the way with ease.

_Wow…it actually worked. He's actually provoked._

_What, are you surprised? Since when do my jokes don't achieve its desired effect?_ chuckled Sonic. _How costly do you think it would be for him to afford an abortion -_

_It'll cost him his life, that's for sure. Now shut up and stop distracting me with your abhorrent jokes._ Shadow resisted the urge to punch his own head - more specifically, the voice in his head. "Chaos Blast!" he shouted. The swarming gust of tiny Black Arms aliens were enveloped in a shroud of Chaos Energy. Some transformed into meteors, while others were simply shredded from existence by the sheer power of the attack.

_Shadow! His reaction time is slowing down!_ observed Silver, _Notice how not all of his army solidified into meteors? He's really getting tired! Now's your chance!_

Devil Doom was panting quite heavily. Before he could command his fleet of airborne meteors, Super Shadow swivelled around in the air to his eye, and, without a moment of hesitation, ruthlessly charged towards the glaring organ. It widened in shock as the brilliant comet of gold approached.

The monster howled in pain and horror. "I gave you life! I gave you your _precious_ life, and this…this is how you repay me?!"

"Yes. _This_ is how I repay you." Super Shadow recoiled from the impact. He looked up: a severe gash ran across the eye where he had attacked. The monster freakishly clawed at his injury, but not nearly blocking his vulnerable spot. Heart blooming with confidence, Shadow charged at the exposed eye one last time. He shot straight through the organ, through the hot, viscous blood, downwards to the neck, and then upwards again, emerging from the other head, his scintillating being tearing apart thick, monstrous flesh.

"This, is how I repay you, Black Doom!" he screamed in resolute rage.

"No…NO! This is impossible! I am invincible, immortal! I cannot be vanquished!" he wailed, a grotesque, distorted rasp from his throat. With one final roar, the behemoth collapsed, a deafening, violent _boom_ into the surrounding darkness. One by one, the floating meteors also dropped to the floor, immediately crumbling to ashes, and then nothing, upon the impact.

Super Shadow looked down. The bodies of Sonic and Silver now lay by his feet, unmoving and lifeless. Moments of silence passed without interruption. Finally, the hedgehog spoke, his eyes moist with relief.

"Sonic, Silver, you believed in me, just like brothers do, and I did it. I did it for you. Everything's alright now," he murmured, his voice merely a quiet whisper, "I'm sorry, for not being a true brother to you…It's _all_ my fault, for putting you at risk. But everything's alright now. Nothing will ever harm you -"

"Shadow?"

He swivelled round, facing a certain fox-boy and echidna.

"Tails…Knuckles…are you okay?!"

"We're fine…" responded Tails, "It felt as it I was trapped in a nightmare, and I couldn't escape!"

"Yeah…as soon as we were dragged into the floor, we separated," added Knuckles, "I gotta admit - it was scary!"

Shadow said nothing but turn back, grimly looking down. Tears now made its way down his cheeks. It was only then that Tails and Knuckles noticed the stiff bodies of Sonic and Silver. They walked towards the crouching hedgehog, and sat down next to him.

Suddenly, the dimension trembled.

"The portal!" shouted Knuckles, "And it's beginning to close! Quick, let's go!"

"But what about Sonic and Silver?!" cried Tails.

"Don't worry, I got this." Shadow's resolute voice pierced through the loudness of the shaking shrinking dimension. He held his Chaos Emerald in his hand with complete faith and confidence. _This is going to work_, he thought.

_And it'll be worth the sacrifice._

"Chaos Control!"

Immediately, the fabric of time was warped and distorted. Everything moved in slow motion.

"Come and get Sonic and Silver!"

Tails and Knuckles rushed over, and hauled the unconscious hedgehogs towards their salvation. The portal was once again accelerating, and began to disappear. The fox-boy and echidna turned back to see the motionless super-hedgehog, his hands outstretched with the scintillating Emerald in his grip, his eyes tightly shut and teeth tightly clenched.

"Shadow!" they screamed, "Come on!"

His face relaxed, and he said, "I can't. My super state amplifies the duration of my Chaos Control."

"Yes, you can, Shadow! _Snap out of it!_" cried Knuckles hysterically as they reluctantly trudged towards their tempting escape, each step bringing them further away from the tranced black hedgehog. He simply shook his head, his mouth curved upwards in a smile of acceptance as a sigh escaped his breath.

"No," he pronounced, "But _you_ still can! Please, take Sonic and Silver to their safety!"

"This isn't you, Shadow! You can't just accept this! You're never like this! You _can_ do it, come on!" shouted Tails.

"How do you know who I _really_ am?" he said, eyes still closed. The Emerald began to dim, and the arms of the black hedgehog dropped to his sides, the Chaos Emerald falling out of his loosened fingers. The darkness began to twist, and churn. Explosive sounds filled the chaotic space. "But I'll…leave in peace, knowing that my sacrifice has been worth it!"

Shadow opened his eyes, observing the emotional figures in the disappearing distance with a genuine sadness, but the red rubies in his eyes also shone with a greater optimism and hopefulness. He continued, "Don't be shocked, Tails, Knuckles. Get out of here now, before it's too late."

The portal now loomed over the fox-boy and echidna, who carried the blue and white hedgehogs. Through the shimmering fabric of space, they could see the familiar, welcoming environment of Emerald Hill Zone: the pastoral plains swayed in the wind, and the aquamarine lake brimmed under the sunshine, beckoning for them to return.

Tails and Knuckles took one last look at Shadow, their eyes no longer holding back all the helplessness that trickled down their faces. The midnight hedgehog, however, was at ease, his smile bigger than ever. He opened his mouth for one last time.

"And please, in the name of brotherhood, tell Sonic and Silver how much I _love_ them."

And with one final step, the receding figures transgressed the ultimate boundary, as the dimension of darkness collapsed onto itself with one final discordant, overwhelming sound.

* * *

Tails and Knuckles leapt through the portal. Everything was spinning, flashing, a swirl of inter-dimension chaos. They held onto each other, still carrying the hedgehogs, out of fear and uncertainty. The fall seemed to last for eternity as they passed through one vortical realm into another.

Then, they were on their feet amidst the serenity of Emerald Hill Zone. And the fall was forgotten, vanished from memory and existence. They panted heavily, still holding onto each other. Their hold became a hug, and a tight one. The loose bodies of Sonic and Silver slipped down their backs onto the grassy floor, but, for a moment, they did not care.

Shadow wasn't with them.

Shadow was gone.

Tears of sorrow fell from their eyes in unison.

And two figures next to them stirred weakly. A certain blue hedgehog groaned. "Where are we - huh? Tails? Knuckles? Are you guys alright?"

"What happened?" remarked the ivory hedgehog. "And where's _Shadow_?"

How could they break the news to them?

* * *

He was falling. _Falling_. Descending in nothing but a prevalent blackness that seemed to be morphing by the second, or minute, or hour, from an empty substance to a cushioning material, or perhaps both. Time itself seemed distorted, completely overwhelmed by darkness. His eyes were closed, serene and accepting, but his heart secretly thumped behind his chest: he anxiously anticipated the moment where it would end forever, where his consciousness and life would be shredded instantaneously. He tried moving his limbs; they would not bulge. He tried harder; they moved mechanically, in a painful slow motion.

_So this is how it felt like to die._

And he thought he was the Ultimate Lifeform.

He was terrified, initially haunted by the belief that his life would lead to eternity, or so Black Doom had forced him to believe, and that one day, he would bear witness to the agonising deaths of his brothers; and now, by the prospect of dying - a fantastical and hallucinatory experience - and leaving his brothers to suffer emotional wounds in his absence.

He opened his eyelids; there was virtually no difference in doing so, for all was just as tenebrous as utter darkness, if not more so. In the depths of his mind, which he felt to be becoming increasingly detached from his body, he heard a convolution of voices: those belonging to his brothers, his closest friends, and those belonging to his worst enemies. They fought for his attention, a raging battle in his floating head. The voices were coupled with illusionary images that seemed so close, yet so far from his reach. Some, he craved to embrace and reunite with; others, he wished his fists were more mobile and movable, so that he could give them a proper beating.

A sudden lurch in his stomach made him growl - a soundless movement of the mouth in the void - his descent into the relentless abyss seemed to increase in pace. He was falling quicker, and quicker still, feeling his insides rise up to his chest, feeling the uncanny absence of wind that would have rushed past his furry body in a regular situation. He wondered what it felt like to die like this. He thought about the possibility of a sudden impact; he envisioned his body slowly being torn apart as his velocity of fall rocketed; and he even dreamed that there would be something, someone, waiting for him at the end of this seemingly endless journey, to reap his soul at his command.

And, in vanity, he hoped it was his brothers, waiting for him.

He closed his eyes again, waiting.

* * *

"Shadow…Shadow is dead," forced Tails.

Sonic and Silver stared in petrification.

"Tails, I'm serious," said Sonic, his voice shaky, "Where is Shadow?!"

"Shadow wanted to let you know how much he loved you, and…and how sad he was to have left you…and…" he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence as he saw the eyes of the hedgehogs, gleaming with a devastated look of fury.

* * *

A loud _thud_.

Shadow groaned in discomfort. The air escaped his lungs as he smashed, front first, into an unyielding ground of metal. He shook his head wildly.

_Am I dead?_

He looked around. He saw a clear reflection of himself in the gilded mirror, his entire presence still burning with life. There was a coffee machine to his right, and various pieces of cozy furniture to the left. And looming above him, and the curved control desk, was a giant screen. The system was on standby mode, and an unmistakable icon in the middle of the black screen seemed to laugh at him with mockery.

The doors to Eggman's control room opened.

* * *

Finally, the azure hedgehog screamed, a hoarse, cracked howl from his throat. "Why did you not make an effort to save him?!"

"We tried, Sonic! We tried, but we couldn't -" replied Knuckles hastily.

"Then you clearly didn't try hard enough!" This time, the hoary hedgehog stepped in. He spat venomously.

A tense silence lingered. The hedgehogs could not resist the flames of anger and loss, burning so brightly inside them; the fox-boy and echidna grew wearier by the second as the heavy atmosphere pushed down on them.

"Damn those Chaos Emeralds!" cried Sonic, "It's all my fault!"

"S-Sonic…don't be so harsh on yourself -" comforted Tails.

"Don't even try and make me feel better…" he retorted, "I attacked Silver by accident. An overpowering anger possessed me, and I couldn't remember anything apart from a irresistible desire to kill Eggman. And yet," he gulped, "Something tells me that you were there too. You, and Shadow…I tried to kill you too." The blue hedgehog sank to his knees. "Then there was nothing but darkness…and Silver, just the two of us. And…and…_never mind_."

"No, Sonic, tell us!" shouted Knuckles.

"Whatever happened after that is none of your business."

"Is it _Black Doom_?"

Sonic and Silver looked at each other in disbelief. "H-how…how did _you_ know?!"

* * *

The scientist was dumbfounded. His mouth gaped open, and the sack he was towing in his hands fell to the ground, and bits and pieces of mechanical components spilled out.

"Don't. Move." Shadow growled.

"H-how?! Wh-what? Shadow the Hedgehog, have mercy!"

"_Super_ Shadow the Hedgehog, you mean to say," he pronounced with a razor-like clarity.

"Y-yes. Don't hurt me. I will leave you in peace," stammered Eggman, about to pick up his dropped sack and turn around.

"I said _don't move_," he snarled menacingly, "Tell me what's in that sack."

"N-nothing!" The Doctor froze on the spot, half-bending, his arms in a rigid, mechanical position. "It contains the components I require to, uh, upgrade my Egg Mobile -"

"They belong to _Tails_. It's easily distinguishable from yours by its superior quality."

Eggman stiffened even more. Effortlessly, the dominant hedgehog sent out a blast of Chaos Energy, sending Eggman flying back. He scooped up the heavy sack with surprising ease, and, before the rotund scientist could recover, flew past him. He disappeared within the bend of the metallic corridor, heading for the exit.

* * *

"We were with Shadow, in Mystic Cave," said the echidna, "When an oppressive force overcame us. That's when we were introduced to Black Doom. He transported us into Eggman's base, where we…encountered you, and subsequently Eggman."

Silver gulped, feeling the saliva trickle down his rough throat.

"Later on, a portal opened," continued the fox-boy, "And we entered a dark realm. Black Doom suspended Knuckles and I in utter darkness, but I was still aware of what was happening. Black Doom was seeping your life away…he taunted Shadow, and then he transformed into this giant, gargoyle-like creature!"

"Eventually, Shadow won the fight," Knuckles took over again, "But the dimension was collapsing…he used Chaos Control to slow down time, but couldn't escape himself…his Super state increased the duration of his Chaos Control…he did everything he could to save you…"

"You shouldn't have known any of this…" grumbled Sonic.

"What?" Tails uttered absent-mindedly.

"Imagine how Shadow would've felt, knowing that _others_ have been exposed to his darkest secrets…"

"We won't say a thing. We promise -"

"No, you won't," muttered Silver, "Black Doom is dead. Forever. Shadow killed him. No one will ever have to worry about that anymore."

"It doesn't change the fact that it's still all my fault. I killed Shadow. I caused his death," the blue hedgehog sobbed. "Shadow was right. I'm such a _fool_. I'm such a fool of a brother. Shadow saved my life. But I took _his_ life. I'm such a fool -"

"Sonic? Shadow saved your life? When?" questioned Silver. It was then that he remembered. "What happened during your adventure with Shadow?"

"Nothing. It's not important anymore, now that Shadow's dead."

"No, tell me!" pleaded Silver, "There seems to be so much going on between you, and I want to know about it!"

"Why?! _Why_ do you?! Give me a _damn_ good reason to tell you why!" screeched Sonic.

Silver recoiled in confusion. "I thought we were brothers! Isn't that an obvious reason why?!"

"What does brotherhood mean, now that Shadow's gone, huh?! It's not important anymore. It's no longer significant. It means _nothing_."

The very words crushed the hearts of both the blue hedgehog who spoke them, and the white hedgehog who received them. Sonic choked on his words; he wanted to gag, to swallow back all the words that slipped out of his mouth, to wish that, in doing so, his and his brother's shattered heart would reassemble and piece itself back together. Tails and Knuckles stood stiffly, tearily observing the emotionally-wrecked brothers drive each other's despair deeper still.

Silver clenched his fists. An irresistible wave of vexation surged through his body - perhaps triggered by the helpless, hopeless situation. His eyes began to glow, and he grabbed the cerulean hedgehog with his psychokinesis. His eyes widened as he faced his furious brother.

"Silver, wh-what are you doing?!"

The hoary hedgehog did not reply. His eyes were tightly shut, and all he felt was the tension of his muscle fibres, the channeling of his power through his body. Sonic began to scream. The psychokinesis was crushing. Tails and Knuckles leapt forwards and frantically shook the body of the white hedgehog, to snap him out of his trance, but his invisible grip on his brother only tightened.

"Stop…please…" forced Sonic. He felt as if his chest was being decompressed, all the air being sucked out of his body. He could feel his ribs relentlessly squeeze onto his organs. He felt like he might implode…

And a particular voice snapped everything back to reality. "Put him down."

Sonic fell to the floor. He yelped as he was relieved from the grasp of psychokinesis. Silver swung his head around so quickly his neck made a snapping sound, but he made no effort to comfort his brief pain. The expressions of Tails and Knuckles grew as bright as the sun shining above them as a familiar figure stood in close distance, tightly clutching a sack filled with precious mechanical components. He wore a great grin of triumph.

"I'm back," said Shadow, as the final remnants of golden fur faded back into black.

* * *

"Hey, Shadow," said Knuckles, as he came running back with a pile of wood planks in his arms, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure. What is it?"

The red echidna dropped the planks onto a bigger pile. Sonic and Silver came over, taking a few - and not forgetting to smile at his brother, who returned the favour. They placed the rectangular pieces of wood together, as if fitting jigsaw pieces.

"Why were you so…fired up? I mean, about that prank I played on Sonic."

The midnight hedgehog heaved a sigh. "He could've died, Knuckles."

"Well, as I said earlier, I would save him if he really _was_ drowning -"

Shadow raised a hand, immediately hushing his friend. "I've almost lost Sonic once. I'm not prepared to lose him again."

And the vermillion echidna fell silent. He looked at the blue and white hedgehogs in the distance.

"Silver, are you alright?" asked Sonic.

Silver was losing himself in his thoughts. He no longer focused on the planks of wood, laid neatly on the grassy ground adjacent to a heap of ruined material that was once a workshop. He fumbled with his fingers.

"Silver?"

He jerked up, "Yes - sorry!"

"Are you okay? What's troubling you?"

"What you said about _brotherhood_…if Shadow isn't pure hedgehog, like us," he swallowed, "Then how is he our…brother?"

Sonic smiled. His green emeralds looked into thoughtful golden orbs. "Silver, do you know the true meaning of _brotherhood_?"

"_Brotherhood…_" the ivory hedgehog mused.

"That's right. _Brotherhood_," a third voice answered. It belonged to Shadow. He came over, and, without delay, wrapped his arms round his brothers, bringing them into his embrace.

Knuckles observed them from a distance. He quietly muttered, "This makes _me_ wish I had a brother." Then, he turned around. Tails skipped over excitedly from the distance.

"Hey, Tails, where were you?"

"Hey Knuckles," the orange fox-boy replied, "I went to test out my _Tornado_! I made some neat upgrades to its features!" Then, he looked beyond the shoulders of the ruby echidna. Seeing Sonic, Shadow and Silver, he smiled warmly as time seemed to slow, and stop, for a savouring moment of eternal brotherhood…

"_He's_ gone," murmured Silver.

"Yeah," answered Sonic, "Now we'll never have to worry again."

"That's right," added Shadow, "And you know what that means? It means I'll never lose you two again.

"_Never_."


	4. Chapter 4

**ENDING**

The group followed an eager Tails as he led them to his newly-rebuilt workshop. In front of the entrance parked his _Tornado_, shining with the glamour and pride of a technological masterpiece.

"As you may all know," the fox-boy announced, "I recently came up with a formula to vastly improve the aerodynamic properties of my _Tornado_ \- oh, not to mention that it now runs on self-generating electrical power instead of fuel! I'm so excited to take you all on a flight around Emerald Hill to test out its refined features!"

"Is this…safe?" asked Silver.

"Don't worry! Safety is always the number one priority for me!" replied Tails, enthused. The white hedgehog loosed his shoulders and leaned back onto his seat.

"And even if it isn't," added Sonic, "Shadow will be here to save us all, am I right, Shads?"

"I betcha he won't!" sniggered Knuckles, but he winced as the cerulean hedgehog gave him a good pinch.

"Shut up, Knuckles, you always ruin the situation."

"Hey, I was joking! Ow! Stop pinching me!"

The black hedgehog growled. But secretly, he smiled.

_Of course I'd save you all,_ he thought, _You're my brothers, and my best friends. And they don't call me the Ultimate Lifeform for nothing._

The engines rumbled, and the crew flew off, in a state of laughter, excitement, and inseparable unity.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

A wholesome and happy conclusion. How sweet.

Hope you enjoyed this journey. Let me know what you think!


End file.
